Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia
Ocean warming has been driving mortality events across the world’s coral reef ecosystems and is resulting in multifaceted ecosystem restructuring. With the rapid shifts occurring across ecosystems, questions arise of which species, in which locations, have the capacity to persevere under climate cha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1190455/full |
| _version_ | 1797387325031841792 |
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| author | Jessica L. Bergman Zoe T. Richards Zoe T. Richards Paige Sawyers Tracy D. Ainsworth |
| author_facet | Jessica L. Bergman Zoe T. Richards Zoe T. Richards Paige Sawyers Tracy D. Ainsworth |
| author_sort | Jessica L. Bergman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ocean warming has been driving mortality events across the world’s coral reef ecosystems and is resulting in multifaceted ecosystem restructuring. With the rapid shifts occurring across ecosystems, questions arise of which species, in which locations, have the capacity to persevere under climate change. Environmental generalism refers to species with the biological traits that support environmental flexibility, enabling the organism to occupy a broad range of environmental conditions. Some Scleractinia have been categorised as environmental generalists and proposed as likely winners under changing climate conditions, as environmental generalists have been considered less susceptible to environmental disturbance than specialist species. Given the complexity of the holobiont structure of corals, which includes photoendosymbiosis and diverse microbial consortia, understanding the complexity of the coral holobiont–environment interaction for the generalist corals will be an important factor in accurately predicting the success of these species into the future. Here we conduct a literature search to compile topics and concepts of environmental generalism for Australia’s warming coral reef ecosystems and the breadth of holobiont responses to ecosystem restructuring. We synthesise these findings in the context of the latitudinal expanse of Australia’s coral reefs to highlight how it is necessary to understand the biological underpinnings of generalist corals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:23:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5f64dcab402a46d69c07e821506c87cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:23:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-5f64dcab402a46d69c07e821506c87cb2023-12-18T11:46:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2023-12-011110.3389/fevo.2023.11904551190455Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of AustraliaJessica L. Bergman0Zoe T. Richards1Zoe T. Richards2Paige Sawyers3Tracy D. Ainsworth4Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaCoral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, AustraliaCollections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, WA, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaBiological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaOcean warming has been driving mortality events across the world’s coral reef ecosystems and is resulting in multifaceted ecosystem restructuring. With the rapid shifts occurring across ecosystems, questions arise of which species, in which locations, have the capacity to persevere under climate change. Environmental generalism refers to species with the biological traits that support environmental flexibility, enabling the organism to occupy a broad range of environmental conditions. Some Scleractinia have been categorised as environmental generalists and proposed as likely winners under changing climate conditions, as environmental generalists have been considered less susceptible to environmental disturbance than specialist species. Given the complexity of the holobiont structure of corals, which includes photoendosymbiosis and diverse microbial consortia, understanding the complexity of the coral holobiont–environment interaction for the generalist corals will be an important factor in accurately predicting the success of these species into the future. Here we conduct a literature search to compile topics and concepts of environmental generalism for Australia’s warming coral reef ecosystems and the breadth of holobiont responses to ecosystem restructuring. We synthesise these findings in the context of the latitudinal expanse of Australia’s coral reefs to highlight how it is necessary to understand the biological underpinnings of generalist corals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1190455/fullgeneralistcoral reefsclimate changePocilloporidAustralia |
| spellingShingle | Jessica L. Bergman Zoe T. Richards Zoe T. Richards Paige Sawyers Tracy D. Ainsworth Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution generalist coral reefs climate change Pocilloporid Australia |
| title | Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia |
| title_full | Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia |
| title_fullStr | Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia |
| title_short | Environmental generalism, holobiont interactions, and Pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of Australia |
| title_sort | environmental generalism holobiont interactions and pocilloporid corals in the warming oceans of the eastern coast of australia |
| topic | generalist coral reefs climate change Pocilloporid Australia |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1190455/full |
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