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The use of cellular diagnostics for identifying sub-lethal stress in reef corals

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Abstract

Coral reefs throughout the world are exhibiting documented declines in coral cover and species diversity, which have been linked to anthropogenic stressors including land-based sources of pollution. Reductions in coastal water and substratum quality are affecting coral survivorship, reproduction and recruitment, and hence, the persistence of coral reefs. One major obstacle in effectively addressing these declines is the lack of tools that can identify cause-and-effect relationships between stressors and specific coral reef losses, while a second problem is the inability to measure the efficacy of mitigation efforts in a timely fashion. We examined corals from six coral reefs on Guam, Mariana Islands, which were being affected by different environmental stressors (e.g. PAH’s, pesticides, PCB’s and sedimentation). Cellular diagnostic analysis differentiated the cellular-physiological condition of these corals. Examination of protein expression provided insight into their homeostatic responses to chemical and physical stressors in exposed corals prior to outright mortality, providing improved opportunities for developing locally-based management responses. This approach adds critically needed tools for addressing the effects of multiple stressors on corals and will allow researchers to move beyond present assessment and monitoring techniques that simply document the loss of coral abundance and diversity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Scott Shaw for assistance in the coral biopsy and sample collection, Jesse Cruz of Guam EPA for sediment sample collection, Dr. Cheryl Woodley for manuscript editing and three anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. This study was supported in part by the NOAA CSCOR CRES Program, EnVirtue Biotechnologies, Inc., NIH and EPA: a Superfund Research Program Grant from NIEHS (P42 ES016465) and a Pew Fellowship to RHR, a program of the Pew Environmental Group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, P.O. Box 92, Clifford, VA, 24533, USA

    Craig A. Downs

  2. Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2500 Campus Way, Honolulu, HI, 96821, USA

    Gary K. Ostrander & Sean Knutson

  3. Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 41 Ahui Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA

    Luc Rougee, Sean Knutson & Robert H. Richmond

  4. Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, UOG Station, Mangilao, GU, 96923, USA

    Teina Rongo, Wendy Mendiola & Jackalyn Holbrook

  5. Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center and Linus Pauling Institute, Environmental Health Sciences Center Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    David E. Williams

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  1. Craig A. Downs
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  2. Gary K. Ostrander
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  3. Luc Rougee
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  9. Robert H. Richmond
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Correspondence to Gary K. Ostrander.

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Downs, C.A., Ostrander, G.K., Rougee, L. et al. The use of cellular diagnostics for identifying sub-lethal stress in reef corals. Ecotoxicology 21, 768–782 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0837-4

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