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The effect of temperature stress on coral–Symbiodinium associations containing distinct symbiont types

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Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that the temperature tolerance of scleractinian reef-building corals is controlled, in part, by hosting physiologically distinct symbiotic algae. We investigated the thermal tolerance of coral–algal associations within seven common species of reef-building corals hosting distinct Symbiodinium sub-clades collected from Heron Island during experimentally induced bleaching conditions. During experimental heating, photosynthetic fitness was assessed by the dark-adapted yield of PSII (F v/F m), and excitation pressure across PSII (Q m) of each coral–algal association using pulse amplitude modulation fluorometry. The onset of bleaching was determined by the measurement of Symbiodinium cell density. Using the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region, we showed that Symbiodinium type–coral host associations were temporally and spatially conserved in a high proportion of the colonies sampled within each species. Generally, the species Acropora millepora, Platygyra daedalea, Acropora aspera and Acropora formosa contained Symbiodinium ITS-2 type C3, whereas the species Montipora digitata, Porites cylindrica and Porites lutea contained Symbiodinium type C15. Bleaching susceptibility showed some association with Symbiodinium type, but further research is required to confirm this. Corals hosting C3 Symbiodinium displayed higher reductions in F v/F m during heating compared to their C15 counterparts, irrespective of host species. However, a corresponding reduction in Symbiodinium density was not observed. Nonetheless, A. aspera and A. formosa showed significant reductions in Symbiodinium density relative to controls. This correlated with large increases in Q m and decreases in F v/F m in heated explants. Our results suggest a range of bleaching susceptibilities for the coral species investigated, with A. aspera and A. formosa showing the greatest susceptibility to bleaching and M. digitata showing the lowest bleaching susceptibility. The data provide strong evidence for distinct differences in temperature tolerance between C3 and C15 Symbiodinium types when in-hospite; however, future studies addressing the confounding effect of host species would help to confirm this.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the Australian Research Council grant (A00106021) held by Dr Sophie Dove. The authors would like to thank Dr Alistair Grinham and Dr Mark Davey for their contributions during fieldwork. We are also grateful to Dr Simon Davy and Jacqui Barber for their comments on the manuscript. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous referees and Dr Mark Warner for the comments they provided on this manuscript.

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Correspondence to P. L. Fisher.

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Fisher, P.L., Malme, M.K. & Dove, S. The effect of temperature stress on coral–Symbiodinium associations containing distinct symbiont types. Coral Reefs 31, 473–485 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0853-0

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