Abstract
Corals are relatively stenothermic organisms and highly sensitive to thermal stress. To understand how heating rate modulates the holobiont response to thermal challenge, we compared the effects of acute heat shock and cumulative thermal exposures on Acropora cervicornis from Southeast Florida (26° 06 N, 80° 05 W). In March of 2017, maximum dark-adapted yield of photosystem II (FV/FM), rates of dark respiration (R), and rates of gross photosynthesis (Pg) were measured at temperatures spanning 25–36 °C. Thermal performance curves of each response variable were constructed as a function of temperature and thermal dose (i.e., degree heating minutes). Acute exposure (i.e., instantaneously increasing temperature by between 2.5 and 10 °C) resulted in a more marked decline in physiology despite a lower thermal dose, compared to the cumulative exposure (2.5 °C h−1). Apparent deficits in coral holobiont metabolism were observed as a function of both temperature and thermal dose, but examination of holobiont metabolism in a dose-context revealed more pronounced differences between acute and cumulative exposures. Subtle physiological differences may be more easily identified and better cross-study comparisons of cnidarian thermal tolerance may be achieved by placing temperature exposures in degree heating times. In addition, the ratio of daily Pg:R fell below 1 when temperatures exceeded 32 °C, corroborating prior observations that Pg:R may be a means of identifying physiological deficits in advance of visual signs of dysbiosis, such as bleaching.
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Data are publicly available from on Github at https://github.com/harmonymartell/Acervicornis_physiology_2017.git and citable at Zenodo https://zenodo.org/badge/latestdoi/233725958.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to E. Goergen, D. Gilliam, NSU CRRAM Lab, D. Kerstetter, D. Renegar, N. Turner, R. Martell, B. Riegl, H. Nylander-Asplin, V. Pecci, A. Peterson, S. Eagan, D. Swack, and D. Barshis for laboratory and field resources. H. Gaff, D. Gautier, M. Warner, and S. Donner provided guidance on the experimental design and comments on early versions of the manuscript. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their generous comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. This work was performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree (HAM) in Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University.
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This research was supported by Old Dominion University via start-up funds to D. Barshis, a research award from ODU’s Biology Graduate Student Organization to HAM and more than 100 anonymous donations made to HAM via a crowdfunding campaign entitled “Training Corals to Resist Bleaching”.
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HAM and RCZ conceived the manuscript, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. HAM led and performed all field and lab work.
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Martell, H.A., Zimmerman, R.C. Heating rate modulates the metabolic response of the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816). Mar Biol 168, 83 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03847-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03847-6