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Effect of species, provenance, and coral physiology on the composition of Hawaiian coral-associated microbial communities

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Abstract

The resistance of corals to a changing climate has been linked to physiological parameters including heterotrophic capacity and energy reserves. Recently, the potential flexibility and diversity of coral-associated microbial communities have also been related to coral health and resistance to environmental stress. This study uses the island of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i, USA, as a natural laboratory to explore variability in the microbial community composition of four coral species (Porites compressa, Porites lobata, Pocillopora acuta, and Pocillopora meandrina) across a gradient of natural ocean conditions. In addition, we assessed potential relationships between the composition of coral-associated microbial communities with coral physiology. We found that microbial community composition differed among all coral species, as well as among several of the collection sites within species. Microbial community assembly appeared to be governed by a combination of deterministic and stochastic processes, and the composition of these communities was more often related to measurements of coral physiology than environmental parameters among the collection sites. Specifically, coral lipid and protein levels, two components of coral energy reserves, explained significant portions of microbial community composition in Porites lobata and Pocillopora acuta, respectively. Further, microbial community diversity decreased as the proportionate contribution of heterotrophy relative to photoautotrophy in coral tissues increased in Porites compressa and Pocillopora acuta, but the opposite was true for Porites lobata. These findings suggest that if coral heterotrophy increases with warming oceans, it could co-occur with shifts in microbial community diversity in some coral species, possibly from decreased production of photosynthates and/or changes in the nutritional makeup of the mucus layer. Overall, connections with energy reserves and heterotrophy suggest a role for coral resource use in shaping the composition of coral-associated microbial communities across a range of natural ocean conditions, a relationship that may be important as some corals acclimatize to global climate change.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology for logistical support. We also thank J Altschuler, J Armstrong, A Arribas, L Bailey, M Burris, C Criswell, S Dixon, K Dobson, K Giesy, F Hawkes, H Hayes, A Huber, C Juracka, E Kline, S Lannon, M Locatis, A Moore, M Moran, C Mortemore, L Mullins, B Nainiger, E Nguyen, Y Noggle, E O’Flynn, M Otto, K Rockwell, K Ryan, E Sambuco, C Saup, A Smith, K Snyder, S Solomon, J Walters, and A Wertz for their field and laboratory assistance. We also thank E. Geiger and S. Heron for their assistance with obtaining the satellite environmental data. Major funding for this work was provided to AGG by the National Science Foundation (Award numbers 1459536 and 1838667) and the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation and to RJT by the National Science Foundation (1416889). Additional funding was provided to JTP by the International Coral Reef Society, Geological Society of America, and the Ohio State University. On behalf of all authors, the corresponding authors state that there are no conflicts of interest.

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  1. School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    James T. Price, Rowan H. McLachlan & Andréa G. Grottoli

  2. Hawai‘I Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i At Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, 96744, USA

    Christopher P. Jury & Robert J. Toonen

  3. Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Michael J. Wilkins

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Price, J.T., McLachlan, R.H., Jury, C.P. et al. Effect of species, provenance, and coral physiology on the composition of Hawaiian coral-associated microbial communities. Coral Reefs 40, 1537–1548 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-021-02164-0

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