Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis
Determining the adaptive potential of foundation species, such as reef-building corals, is urgent as the oceans warm and coral populations decline. Theory predicts that corals may adapt to climate change via selection on standing genetic variation. Yet, corals face not only rising temperatures but a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2018-09-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/35066 |
| _version_ | 1811253033513779200 |
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| author | Erinn M Muller Erich Bartels Iliana B Baums |
| author_facet | Erinn M Muller Erich Bartels Iliana B Baums |
| author_sort | Erinn M Muller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Determining the adaptive potential of foundation species, such as reef-building corals, is urgent as the oceans warm and coral populations decline. Theory predicts that corals may adapt to climate change via selection on standing genetic variation. Yet, corals face not only rising temperatures but also novel diseases. We studied the interaction between two major stressors affecting colonies of the threatened coral, Acropora cervicornis: white-band disease and high water temperature. We determined that 27% of A. cervicornis were disease resistant prior to a thermal anomaly. However, disease resistance was largely lost during a bleaching event because of more compromised coral hosts or increased pathogenic dose/virulence. There was no tradeoff between disease resistance and temperature tolerance; disease susceptibility was independent of Symbiodinium strain. The present study shows that susceptibility to temperature stress creates an increased risk in disease-associated mortality, and only rare genets may maintain or gain infectious disease resistance under high temperature. We conclude that A. cervicornis populations in the lower Florida Keys harbor few existing genotypes that are resistant to both warming and disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:44:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dccfc80eb6164942ac1180a92febeba4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:44:40Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-dccfc80eb6164942ac1180a92febeba42022-12-22T03:24:39ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2018-09-01710.7554/eLife.35066Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornisErinn M Muller0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2695-2064Erich Bartels1Iliana B Baums2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6463-7308Coral Health and Disease Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, United StatesCoral Reef Monitoring and Assessment Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, United StatesDetermining the adaptive potential of foundation species, such as reef-building corals, is urgent as the oceans warm and coral populations decline. Theory predicts that corals may adapt to climate change via selection on standing genetic variation. Yet, corals face not only rising temperatures but also novel diseases. We studied the interaction between two major stressors affecting colonies of the threatened coral, Acropora cervicornis: white-band disease and high water temperature. We determined that 27% of A. cervicornis were disease resistant prior to a thermal anomaly. However, disease resistance was largely lost during a bleaching event because of more compromised coral hosts or increased pathogenic dose/virulence. There was no tradeoff between disease resistance and temperature tolerance; disease susceptibility was independent of Symbiodinium strain. The present study shows that susceptibility to temperature stress creates an increased risk in disease-associated mortality, and only rare genets may maintain or gain infectious disease resistance under high temperature. We conclude that A. cervicornis populations in the lower Florida Keys harbor few existing genotypes that are resistant to both warming and disease.https://elifesciences.org/articles/35066Acropora cervicorniswhite-band diseasedisease resistancerelative risk assessmentcoral bleachingSymbiodinium fitti |
| spellingShingle | Erinn M Muller Erich Bartels Iliana B Baums Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis eLife Acropora cervicornis white-band disease disease resistance relative risk assessment coral bleaching Symbiodinium fitti |
| title | Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full | Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis |
| title_fullStr | Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis |
| title_short | Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis |
| title_sort | bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species acropora cervicornis |
| topic | Acropora cervicornis white-band disease disease resistance relative risk assessment coral bleaching Symbiodinium fitti |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/35066 |
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