Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda
As the devastating impacts of global climate change and local anthropogenic stressors on shallow-water coral reefs are expected to rise, mesophotic coral ecosystems have increasingly been regarded as potential lifeboats for coral survival, providing a source of propagules to replenish shallower reef...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702672/full |
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| author | Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Federica Scucchia Federica Scucchia Rebecca Ju Rebecca Ju Alex Chequer Alex Chequer Shai Einbinder Shai Einbinder Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Hagai Nativ Hagai Nativ Tali Mass Tali Mass |
| author_facet | Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Federica Scucchia Federica Scucchia Rebecca Ju Rebecca Ju Alex Chequer Alex Chequer Shai Einbinder Shai Einbinder Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Hagai Nativ Hagai Nativ Tali Mass Tali Mass |
| author_sort | Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the devastating impacts of global climate change and local anthropogenic stressors on shallow-water coral reefs are expected to rise, mesophotic coral ecosystems have increasingly been regarded as potential lifeboats for coral survival, providing a source of propagules to replenish shallower reefs. Yet, there is still limited knowledge of the capacity for coral larvae to adjust to light intensities that change with depth. This study elucidates the mechanisms underlying plasticity during early life stages of the coral Porites astreoides that enable survival across broad depth gradients. We examined physiological and morphological variations in larvae from shallow (8–10 m) and mesophotic (45 m) reefs in Bermuda, and evaluated differences in survival, settlement patterns and size among recruits depending on light conditions using a reciprocal ex situ transplantation experiment. Larvae released from mesophotic adults were found to have significantly lower respiration rates and were significantly larger than those derived from shallow adults, indicating higher content of energetic resources and suggesting a greater dispersal potential for mesophotic larvae compared to their shallow counterparts. Additionally, larvae released from mesophotic adults experienced higher settlement success and larger initial spat size compared to larvae from shallow adults, demonstrating a potential connection between parental origin, offspring quality, and recruitment success. Although both shallow and mesophotic larvae exhibited the capacity to survive and settle under reciprocal light conditions, all larvae had higher survival under mesophotic light conditions regardless of parental origin, suggesting that conditions experienced under low light may enable longer larval life, further extending the dispersal period. These results indicate that larvae from mesophotic Porites astreoides colonies are likely capable of reseeding shallow reefs in Bermuda, thereby supporting the Deep Reef Refugia Hypothesis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:28:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69185841d4bd475db4a9d6fdbdcfbba8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:28:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-69185841d4bd475db4a9d6fdbdcfbba82022-12-21T22:31:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-09-01810.3389/fmars.2021.702672702672Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in BermudaGretchen Goodbody-Gringley0Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley1Federica Scucchia2Federica Scucchia3Rebecca Ju4Rebecca Ju5Alex Chequer6Alex Chequer7Shai Einbinder8Shai Einbinder9Stephane Martinez10Stephane Martinez11Stephane Martinez12Hagai Nativ13Hagai Nativ14Tali Mass15Tali Mass16Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Little Cayman, Cayman IslandsBermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, St. George’s, BermudaThe Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, IsraelDepartment of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelBermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, St. George’s, BermudaDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United StatesCentral Caribbean Marine Institute, Little Cayman, Cayman IslandsBermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, St. George’s, BermudaDepartment of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelMorris Kahn Marine Research Station, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelDepartment of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelMorris Kahn Marine Research Station, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelCoral Ecophysiology Team, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, MonacoDepartment of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelMorris Kahn Marine Research Station, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelDepartment of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelMorris Kahn Marine Research Station, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, IsraelAs the devastating impacts of global climate change and local anthropogenic stressors on shallow-water coral reefs are expected to rise, mesophotic coral ecosystems have increasingly been regarded as potential lifeboats for coral survival, providing a source of propagules to replenish shallower reefs. Yet, there is still limited knowledge of the capacity for coral larvae to adjust to light intensities that change with depth. This study elucidates the mechanisms underlying plasticity during early life stages of the coral Porites astreoides that enable survival across broad depth gradients. We examined physiological and morphological variations in larvae from shallow (8–10 m) and mesophotic (45 m) reefs in Bermuda, and evaluated differences in survival, settlement patterns and size among recruits depending on light conditions using a reciprocal ex situ transplantation experiment. Larvae released from mesophotic adults were found to have significantly lower respiration rates and were significantly larger than those derived from shallow adults, indicating higher content of energetic resources and suggesting a greater dispersal potential for mesophotic larvae compared to their shallow counterparts. Additionally, larvae released from mesophotic adults experienced higher settlement success and larger initial spat size compared to larvae from shallow adults, demonstrating a potential connection between parental origin, offspring quality, and recruitment success. Although both shallow and mesophotic larvae exhibited the capacity to survive and settle under reciprocal light conditions, all larvae had higher survival under mesophotic light conditions regardless of parental origin, suggesting that conditions experienced under low light may enable longer larval life, further extending the dispersal period. These results indicate that larvae from mesophotic Porites astreoides colonies are likely capable of reseeding shallow reefs in Bermuda, thereby supporting the Deep Reef Refugia Hypothesis.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702672/fullmesophoticplasticityrefugiarespirationcoral larvaeBermuda |
| spellingShingle | Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley Federica Scucchia Federica Scucchia Rebecca Ju Rebecca Ju Alex Chequer Alex Chequer Shai Einbinder Shai Einbinder Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Stephane Martinez Hagai Nativ Hagai Nativ Tali Mass Tali Mass Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda Frontiers in Marine Science mesophotic plasticity refugia respiration coral larvae Bermuda |
| title | Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda |
| title_full | Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda |
| title_fullStr | Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda |
| title_short | Plasticity of Porites astreoides Early Life History Stages Suggests Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems Act as Refugia in Bermuda |
| title_sort | plasticity of porites astreoides early life history stages suggests mesophotic coral ecosystems act as refugia in bermuda |
| topic | mesophotic plasticity refugia respiration coral larvae Bermuda |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.702672/full |
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