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Variable intraspecific genetic diversity effects impact thermal tolerance in a reef-building coral

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Abstract

Inter- and intraspecific diversity drive ecological function in many ecosystems but are poorly explored on coral reefs. To address this knowledge gap, we used larvae and adults of the brooding coral Pocillopora acuta with known parentage to examine diversity effects under temperature stress. There was a strong positive impact of increased diversity on the survival of adult corals at high temperatures, but limited or negative impacts in larvae and other metrics. This improvement was due primarily to complementarity, suggesting facilitation impacts the phenotypes of individual corals via their associated community and highlighting the critical importance of preserving diversity to preserve tolerant phenotypes that elevate community performance. We hypothesized that superoxide dismutase production could explain this pattern and describe a genomic variant that correlates with improved performance in diverse treatments; however, we found no differences in antioxidant activity between variants. These data demonstrate that some ecologically important outcomes under climate change are influenced by intraspecific diversity, which may parallel the ubiquitous functional effects of interspecific diversity. This genetic diversity may be a source of cryptic resilience on coral reefs and should be a factor in management and conservation goals because of its intrinsic positive influence on the ecosystem.

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Data availability

All scripts and data for analysis are available at the DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7234285. Raw sequence data can be found on the NCBI sequence read archive under BioProject PRJNA629530.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jenna Dilworth, Luke Kikukawa, Josh Hancock, Ty Roach, Fiona Carey and the Gates Coral Lab for assistance with experimental setup. We also thank Shayle Matsuda for assistance in analyzing sequencing data. We dedicate this manuscript to Ruth Gates, who encouraged us to think of unconventional approaches to coral reef conservation. This work was funded by National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship DGE1329626 to ASH and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Collections were made under DLNR-DAR permit SAP 2018-03 to HIMB. This is SOEST contribution 11588 and HIMB contribution 1909.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Kāneʻohe, HI, USA

      Ariana S. Huffmyer, Nina K. Bean, Eva Majerová, Casey I. Harris & Crawford Drury

    2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA

      Ariana S. Huffmyer

    3. Institute of Environment, Biological Sciences Department, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA

      Nina K. Bean

    4. Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, USA

      Casey I. Harris

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    1. Ariana S. Huffmyer
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    ASH and CD conceived the study. ASH, EM, NKB, CIH, and CD collected data and wrote the manuscript. ASH and CD analyzed the data. All authors approved the final submission.

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    Correspondence to Ariana S. Huffmyer.

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    Huffmyer, A.S., Bean, N.K., Majerová, E. et al. Variable intraspecific genetic diversity effects impact thermal tolerance in a reef-building coral. Coral Reefs 42, 119–129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02320-0

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