ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS
Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by climate change effects like increasing ocean warming and ocean acidification. These increased pressures cause a dysbiosis between the coral host, algal endosymbionts, and associated coral microbiome that results in the coral host expelling algal endosymbionts,...
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:oa_diss-2573 2023-10-29T02:39:12+01:00 ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS Strand, Emma 2023-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1568 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/oa_diss/article/2573/viewcontent/Strand_uri_0186A_13156.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1568 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/oa_diss/article/2573/viewcontent/Strand_uri_0186A_13156.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Open Access Dissertations text 2023 ftunivrhodeislan 2023-10-02T18:08:21Z Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by climate change effects like increasing ocean warming and ocean acidification. These increased pressures cause a dysbiosis between the coral host, algal endosymbionts, and associated coral microbiome that results in the coral host expelling algal endosymbionts, leaving the coral host with a stark white ‘bleached’ appearance. Without their endosymbionts, coral hosts are forced to sustain themselves energetically with heterotrophy instead of relying on the autotrophic carbon and energy sources that once came from the algal endosymbionts. When this response, termed ‘coral bleaching’, happens reef-wide during an extreme wave of increased ocean temperatures, this is called a mass Coral Bleaching Event. The frequency and intensity of mass Coral Bleaching events are increasing around the world, forcing corals to acclimatize to survive. This dissertation investigates the physiological and genomic mechanisms underlying acclimatization and increased stress tolerance in two common, reef-building corals: Montipora capitata and Pocillopora acuta. In three chapters, I present findings that support phenotypic plasticity and increased stress tolerance in M. capitata and hypothesize the mechanisms contributing to this. In Chapter 1, I conducted an ex-situ experiment that mimicked an environmentally realistic, extended heatwave and ocean acidification scenario in a factorial design of increased temperature and increased pCO2 conditions for a two-month stress period and a two-month recovery period. Both species’ physiological states were significantly challenged but M. capitata displayed a more favorable photosynthetic rate to antioxidant capacity ratio and associated with more thermally tolerant symbionts. Although M. capitata survived at higher rates than P. acuta, physiological state was still significantly impacted after two months of recovery, suggesting that marine heatwaves likely induce physiological legacies that may impact performance during the next, inevitable heatwave. In Chapter ... Text Ocean acidification University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
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University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
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Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by climate change effects like increasing ocean warming and ocean acidification. These increased pressures cause a dysbiosis between the coral host, algal endosymbionts, and associated coral microbiome that results in the coral host expelling algal endosymbionts, leaving the coral host with a stark white ‘bleached’ appearance. Without their endosymbionts, coral hosts are forced to sustain themselves energetically with heterotrophy instead of relying on the autotrophic carbon and energy sources that once came from the algal endosymbionts. When this response, termed ‘coral bleaching’, happens reef-wide during an extreme wave of increased ocean temperatures, this is called a mass Coral Bleaching Event. The frequency and intensity of mass Coral Bleaching events are increasing around the world, forcing corals to acclimatize to survive. This dissertation investigates the physiological and genomic mechanisms underlying acclimatization and increased stress tolerance in two common, reef-building corals: Montipora capitata and Pocillopora acuta. In three chapters, I present findings that support phenotypic plasticity and increased stress tolerance in M. capitata and hypothesize the mechanisms contributing to this. In Chapter 1, I conducted an ex-situ experiment that mimicked an environmentally realistic, extended heatwave and ocean acidification scenario in a factorial design of increased temperature and increased pCO2 conditions for a two-month stress period and a two-month recovery period. Both species’ physiological states were significantly challenged but M. capitata displayed a more favorable photosynthetic rate to antioxidant capacity ratio and associated with more thermally tolerant symbionts. Although M. capitata survived at higher rates than P. acuta, physiological state was still significantly impacted after two months of recovery, suggesting that marine heatwaves likely induce physiological legacies that may impact performance during the next, inevitable heatwave. In Chapter ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Strand, Emma |
spellingShingle |
Strand, Emma ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
author_facet |
Strand, Emma |
author_sort |
Strand, Emma |
title |
ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
title_short |
ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
title_full |
ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
title_fullStr |
ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
title_full_unstemmed |
ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS OF STRESS TOLERANCE IN REEF-BUILDING CORAL HOLOBIONTS |
title_sort |
elucidating the mechanisms of stress tolerance in reef-building coral holobionts |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1568 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/oa_diss/article/2573/viewcontent/Strand_uri_0186A_13156.pdf |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Open Access Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1568 https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/oa_diss/article/2573/viewcontent/Strand_uri_0186A_13156.pdf |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
_version_ |
1781065888318881792 |