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Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau

Climate change is dramatically changing ecosystem composition and productivity, leading scientists to consider the best approaches to map natural resistance and foster ecosystem resilience in the face of these changes. Here, we present results from a large-scale experimental assessment of coral blea...

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Autores principales: Cornwell, Brendan, Armstrong, Katrina, Walker, Nia S, Lippert, Marilla, Nestor, Victor, Golbuu, Yimnang, Palumbi, Stephen R
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8457836/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34387190
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64790
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author Cornwell, Brendan
Armstrong, Katrina
Walker, Nia S
Lippert, Marilla
Nestor, Victor
Golbuu, Yimnang
Palumbi, Stephen R
author_facet Cornwell, Brendan
Armstrong, Katrina
Walker, Nia S
Lippert, Marilla
Nestor, Victor
Golbuu, Yimnang
Palumbi, Stephen R
author_sort Cornwell, Brendan
collection PubMed
description Climate change is dramatically changing ecosystem composition and productivity, leading scientists to consider the best approaches to map natural resistance and foster ecosystem resilience in the face of these changes. Here, we present results from a large-scale experimental assessment of coral bleaching resistance, a critical trait for coral population persistence as oceans warm, in 221 colonies of the coral Acropora hyacinthus across 37 reefs in Palau. We find that bleaching-resistant individuals inhabit most reefs but are found more often in warmer microhabitats. Our survey also found wide variation in symbiont concentration among colonies, and that colonies with lower symbiont load tended to be more bleaching-resistant. By contrast, our data show that low symbiont load comes at the cost of lower growth rate, a tradeoff that may operate widely among corals across environments. Corals with high bleaching resistance have been suggested as a source for habitat restoration or selective breeding in order to increase coral reef resilience to climate change. Our maps show where these resistant corals can be found, but the existence of tradeoffs with heat resistance may suggest caution in unilateral use of this one trait in restoration.
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spelling pubmed-84578362021-09-24 Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau Cornwell, Brendan Armstrong, Katrina Walker, Nia S Lippert, Marilla Nestor, Victor Golbuu, Yimnang Palumbi, Stephen R eLife Ecology Climate change is dramatically changing ecosystem composition and productivity, leading scientists to consider the best approaches to map natural resistance and foster ecosystem resilience in the face of these changes. Here, we present results from a large-scale experimental assessment of coral bleaching resistance, a critical trait for coral population persistence as oceans warm, in 221 colonies of the coral Acropora hyacinthus across 37 reefs in Palau. We find that bleaching-resistant individuals inhabit most reefs but are found more often in warmer microhabitats. Our survey also found wide variation in symbiont concentration among colonies, and that colonies with lower symbiont load tended to be more bleaching-resistant. By contrast, our data show that low symbiont load comes at the cost of lower growth rate, a tradeoff that may operate widely among corals across environments. Corals with high bleaching resistance have been suggested as a source for habitat restoration or selective breeding in order to increase coral reef resilience to climate change. Our maps show where these resistant corals can be found, but the existence of tradeoffs with heat resistance may suggest caution in unilateral use of this one trait in restoration. eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2021-08-13 /pmc/articles/PMC8457836/ /pubmed/34387190 http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64790 Text en © 2021, Cornwell et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Ecology
Cornwell, Brendan
Armstrong, Katrina
Walker, Nia S
Lippert, Marilla
Nestor, Victor
Golbuu, Yimnang
Palumbi, Stephen R
Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title_full Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title_fullStr Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title_full_unstemmed Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title_short Widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral Acropora hyacinthus in Palau
title_sort widespread variation in heat tolerance and symbiont load are associated with growth tradeoffs in the coral acropora hyacinthus in palau
topic Ecology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8457836/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34387190
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64790
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