Coral Symbiodinium Community Composition Across the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is Influenced by Host Species and Thermal Variability ...

• Main Authors: Aichelman, H.E., Baumann, J.H., Castillo, K.D., Davies, S.W.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Springer New York LLC 2018
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17615/33nk-j270; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/articles/h989rc849

Reef-building corals maintain a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium, and this symbiosis is vital for the survival of the coral holobiont. Symbiodinium community composition within the coral host has been shown to influence a coral’s ability to resist and recover from stress. A multitude of stressors including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and eutrophication have been linked to global scale decline in coral health and cover in recent decades. Three distinct thermal regimes (highTP, modTP, and lowTP) following an inshore-offshore gradient of declining average temperatures and thermal variation were identified on the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS). Quantitative metabarcoding of the ITS-2 locus was employed to investigate differences and similarities in Symbiodinium genetic diversity of the Caribbean corals Siderastrea siderea, S. radians, and Pseudodiploria strigosa between the three thermal regimes. A total of ten Symbiodinium lineages were ...