Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
John P. Rippe, Groves Dixon, Zachary L. Fuller, Yi Liao, Mikhail Matz
Summary: The study revealed that two common coral species in the Florida Keys are each composed of four genetically distinct lineages, with two lineages specialized for deep habitats. Furthermore, corals migrating across reef zones are more likely to die before reaching adulthood.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oliver Selmoni, Gael Lecellier, Helene Magalon, Laurent Vigliola, Nicolas Oury, Francesca Benzoni, Christophe Peignon, Stephane Joost, Veronique Berteaux-Lecellier
Summary: The study found that some coral species have developed tolerance against heat stress, possibly through local adaptation. Using seascape genomics approach, heat stress-associated SNPs were identified in genes related to pathways such as protein folding, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and DNA repair in these species.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shengwu Yuan, Jingying Huang, Wei Qian, Xiaoshan Zhu, Shuhang Wang, Xia Jiang
Summary: This study comprehensively assessed the toxic effects and mechanisms of physical sunscreen on the common button coral Zoanthus sp. The results showed that physical sunscreen significantly inhibited growth and affected the symbiotic systems of the coral. Zinc ions toxicity and bioaccumulation, as well as oxidative stress, were identified as the main toxic mechanisms.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kenneth K. Askelson, Garth M. Spellman, Darren Irwin
Summary: Analysis of genomic variation reveals high differentiation among white-breasted nuthatch populations, suggesting the existence of at least three species. It also shows evidence of introgression between a ghost lineage and a current population, contributing to differentiation.
Review
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jiaoyun Jiang, Aoqi Wang, Xiangzi Deng, Wenxu Zhou, Qinhua Gan, Yandu Lu
Summary: The health of corals relies on the fragile partnership between coral hosts and endosymbiotic dinoflagellate symbionts, with modern omics techniques providing crucial insights into the symbiotic relationship. Proteomics and metabolomics are complementing genomics and transcriptomics, offering new perspectives on the intrinsic processes of holobionts. A new era of systems biology, coupled with the development of synthetic biology, is anticipated to greatly enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of mutualistic partners.
Article
Ecology
Scott C. Burgess, Erika C. Johnston, Alex S. J. Wyatt, James J. Leichter, Peter J. Edmunds
Summary: Variation among functionally similar species in their response to environmental stress plays a crucial role in buffering ecosystems from changing states. In the case of the common Indo-Pacific coral Pocillopora, cryptic species exhibited differences in their bleaching response to prolonged ocean heating, highlighting the importance of uncovering response diversity for resilience in ecosystems. The identification of morphologically similar species that differ in their response to stress has significant implications for maintaining ecological functions and driving resilience in coral-dominated systems.
Article
Biology
S. A. Keith, J-P A. Hobbs, L. Bostrom-Einarsson, I. R. Hartley, N. J. Sanders
Summary: Avoiding costly fights can conserve energy needed to survive environmental change, but how resource depletion affects competitor recognition processes in butterflyfishes is poorly understood. We conducted a study using a coral mortality event and field observations to test the impact of rapid resource loss on recognition processes in butterflyfishes. The results showed that competitor recognition became less accurate for heterospecifics after the coral mortality, potentially due to altered resource overlaps.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Robert van Woesik, Chelsey Kratochwill
Summary: Coral reefs, the most diverse marine ecosystems, are facing increased thermal stress events leading to coral bleaching. The severity of bleaching varies depending on species, location, historical conditions, and local/regional influences. The Global Coral-Bleaching Database compiles over 34,000 records from 93 countries, providing crucial information on bleaching presence, site exposure, and environmental factors.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Erika C. Johnston, Alex S. J. Wyatt, James J. Leichter, Scott C. Burgess
Summary: Cryptic species that appear morphologically similar may coexist due to slow competitive exclusion rates or lack of ecological similarity. Through genetic identification and extensive sampling, differences in relative abundance of Pocillopora species across depth gradients were uncovered, indicating that these cryptic species are not ecologically similar and show specificity in their associations with environmental factors such as light and temperature. The community composition patterns were associated with differences in water temperature cooling between deeper and shallower waters.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jih-Terng Wang, Chi-Wei Chu, Keryea Soong
Summary: This article presents a laboratory-based method for comparing the bleaching susceptibility of different coral species using a standardized image analysis protocol. By photographing and digitally analyzing coral samples, standardized grayscale values are determined and used to calculate relative grayscale and bleaching time index, indicating the corals' sensitivity to bleaching. The method was used to compare the bleaching susceptibility of five species and successfully ranked their sensitivity. The proposed method is easier and requires fewer replicates compared to other methods, making it a valuable tool for studying coral bleaching.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Courtney N. Klepac, Katherine R. Eaton, Chelsea G. Petrik, Lindsay N. Arick, Emily R. Hall, Erinn M. Muller
Summary: The decline of coral health and loss of coral cover in Florida's Coral Reef are caused by both local stressors, such as degraded water quality and disease outbreaks, and anthropogenically driven global stressors, including ocean warming and acidification. To restore degraded reef habitats, intervention strategies need to consider the influence of ocean warming and acidification on coral health and select resistant or resilient coral species and individual genotypes. This study examined the physiological responses of threatened reef-building corals to experimentally elevated water temperatures and pCO(2) levels, finding differential responses by coral species and associated algal symbionts. High genetic variation in nursery-reared corals contributes to variable warming-acidification responses, suggesting the importance of genetic diversity in coral restoration efforts.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Susan A. Smith, Luciana F. Santoferrara, Laura A. Katz, George B. McManus
Summary: This study compares two cryptic ciliate species using traditional taxonomic characters and genome architecture. The results show minor differences in common taxonomic identification indices, but significant differences in genomic architecture, providing a new tool for species diagnosis and differentiation.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Paul R. Muir, Terence Done, J. David Aguirre
Summary: The study investigated the variation in susceptibility to mass bleaching among closely related coral species and the validity of applying susceptibility data across different geographical regions. Results showed significant regional differences in susceptibility among coral species in the Great Barrier Reef and the Maldives, partly due to recent adaptation and acclimatization.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Henry A. Bartelet, Michele L. Barnes, Graeme S. Cumming
Summary: Coral reefs are heavily impacted by climate-induced disturbances, and the loss of coral reefs has a significant effect on people who rely on the ecosystem services they provide. However, the impacts of coral loss and the ability of individuals and businesses to adapt to it are not well understood, especially in the private sector. To address this gap, a survey was conducted among Australian reef tourism operators to understand their responses to severe bleaching and cyclone impacts. The results highlight the importance of response diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and learning for social-ecological resilience.
Article
Environmental Sciences
D. Burn, A. S. Hoey, S. Matthews, H. B. Harrison, M. S. Pratchett
Summary: Climate-induced coral bleaching poses a major threat to coral assemblages worldwide, but susceptibility to bleaching varies among different coral taxa. In this study, we compared bleaching susceptibility among 10 coral morpho-taxa and two colony size classes across 33 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks. We found that colony size and bleaching severity significantly influenced the hierarchy of bleaching susceptibility among taxa, with massive Porites shifting from being less likely to bleach to becoming highly susceptible as overall bleaching severity increased. Additionally, juvenile corals smaller than 5 cm in diameter were generally more resistant to bleaching, except for Montipora and Pocillopora colonies, which exhibited higher bleaching susceptibility compared to adult corals larger than 5 cm.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Verena Schoepf, Maria U. Jung, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Nicole E. White, Michael Stat, Luke Thomas
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
E. Maria U. Jung, Michael Stat, Luke Thomas, Adam Koziol, Verena Schoepf
Summary: The study highlights that during a marine heatwave in 2016, coral in the subtidal zone were more susceptible to bleaching and recovered slower compared to intertidal corals. The differences in symbiont community composition between environments suggest a potential role in bleaching resilience. Interestingly, the consumption of energy reserves during bleaching did not necessarily correlate with the coral's ability to recover.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Denis Yuen, Louise Cabansay, Andrew Duncan, Gary Luu, Gregory Hogue, Charles Overbeck, Natalie Perez, Walt Shands, David Steinberg, Chaz Reid, Nneka Olunwa, Richard Hansen, Elizabeth Sheets, Ash O'Farrell, Kim Cullion, Brian D. O'Connor, Benedict Paten, Lincoln Stein
Summary: Dockstore is an open source platform that facilitates the publishing, sharing, and finding of bioinformatics tools and workflows. It uses cloud technologies to increase the FAIRness of computational resources, promoting reproducibility in complex bioinformatics analyses. The platform supports various source repositories, analysis frameworks, and language technologies for authors to create a centralized catalogue of scientific software.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Arne A. S. Adam, Rodrigo A. Garcia, Ronen Galaiduk, Sean Tomlinson, Ben Radford, Luke Thomas, Zoe T. Richards
Summary: Using species distribution models, this study evaluated changes in suitable coral habitat and biodiversity patterns in Western Australia under current and future climate scenarios. The results showed that coral species are predicted to expand towards higher latitudes under extreme climate scenarios, leading to a decline in coral biodiversity at low latitude tropical regions. These findings suggest the importance of urgent action to prevent further loss of tropical coral communities and ecosystem services due to climate change.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Abinaya Meenakshisundaram, Luke Thomas, W. Jason Kennington, Michele Thums, Emily Lester, Mark Meekan
Summary: The study validated the accuracy of photo-identification technique, confirming the uniqueness of spot patterns to each whale shark and the high accuracy of the technique. An annual resighting rate of approximately 10% was observed at Ningaloo Reef, indicating that variations in spot patterns did not change over years.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laurence Dugal, Luke Thomas, Mads Reinholdt Jensen, Eva Egelyng Sigsgaard, Tiffany Simpson, Simon Jarman, Philip Francis Thomsen, Mark Meekan
Summary: Population genetic data can provide valuable information on species demography. Traditional tissue biopsy sampling for marine megafauna can be challenging and expensive, but analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a minimally invasive alternative. A study at Ningaloo reef in Australia demonstrated accurate individual-level haplotyping from seawater eDNA, showing potential for population-level analyses without the need for tissue sampling, and providing critical demographic data for marine megafauna conservation and management.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Richard D. Evans, Luke Thomas, W. Jason Kennington, Nicole M. Ryan, Nerida G. Wilson, Zoe Richards, Ryan J. Lowe, Chenae Tuckett
Summary: The study aimed to understand genetic connectivity and diversity patterns of a broadcast spawning coral across a tropical-temperate transition zone in Western Australia. Results showed strong genetic connectivity in tropical populations of Turbinaria 'reniformis' in Western Australia, extending to a southern limit at sub-tropical Shark Bay, while temperate populations were genetically isolated from their tropical counterparts.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Arne A. S. Adam, Luke Thomas, Jim Underwood, James Gilmour, Zoe T. Richards
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change has caused widespread loss of species biodiversity and ecosystem productivity, particularly on tropical coral reefs. This study explores patterns of genetic offset in the reef-building coral Acropora digitifera across Western Australia using population genetic and seascape analyses. The findings reveal restricted gene flow and limited genetic connectivity among geographically distant reef systems, as well as loci strongly associated with regional temperature variation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke Thomas, Karen J. Miller
Summary: This study used a genotyping by sequencing approach to explore patterns of genetic connectivity among populations of Pinctada maxima near the Eighty Mile Beach region in Australia. The results revealed high levels of gene flow among inshore and offshore sites with no depth-related differences in genetic diversity. Bayesian clustering indicated admixture among all samples, suggesting high levels of dispersal and connectivity among fishing grounds.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke Thomas, Jim N. Underwood, Noah H. Rose, Zachary L. Fuller, Zoe T. Richards, Laurence Dugal, Camille M. Grimaldi, Ira R. Cooke, Stephen R. Palumbi, James P. Gilmour
Summary: This study investigates the mechanisms of coral resilience to climate change in the Rowley Shoals of Western Australia. By studying coral samples from different habitats and using various molecular techniques, the researchers found that there were genetic differences between corals living in lagoon and reef slope habitats. Corals from the lagoon were found to be more resistant to bleaching and showed distinct differences in gene expression compared to corals from the reef slope.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Laurence Dugal, Luke Thomas, Abinaya Meenakshisundaram, Tiffany Simpson, Rose Lines, Jamie Colquhoun, Simon Jarman, Mark Meekan
Summary: By applying eDNA metabarcoding, this study explored the differences in community profiles between different habitats in the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area in Western Australia. The results showed distinct clustering of samples by habitat type, and the differences were largely driven by spatial turnover. Additionally, a pattern of spatial stratification within the slope samples was detected.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jia Zhang, Zoe T. Richards, Arne A. S. Adam, Cheong Xin Chan, Chuya Shinzato, James Gilmour, Luke Thomas, Jan M. Strugnell, David J. Miller, Ira Cooke
Summary: Climate change poses a threat to coral reef survival through bleaching and mortality. Understanding the long-term effects of rapid climate change can be achieved by studying how coral populations respond to past climate shifts. In this study, genetic analysis of Acropora digitifera populations in northwestern Australia revealed distinct populations with rapid divergence since the last glacial maximum. The presence of selective sweeps in these populations suggests that host genes play a major role in adaptation. The photosymbiont communities, on the other hand, remained undifferentiated, indicating that acquisition of novel symbionts is not the primary driver of adaptation in this species.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Elora H. Lopez-Nandam, Rebecca Albright, Erik A. Hanson, Elizabeth A. Sheets, Stephen R. Palumbi
Summary: In many animals, the germline differentiates early in embryogenesis, so only mutations that accumulate in germ cells are inherited by offspring. Stony corals, however, have been thought to produce gametes from somatic tissue. To clarify this, researchers sequenced the genomes of parent coral branches and their sperm pools and found that a significant portion of mutations were not shared between the parent and the sperm, indicating the presence of self-renewing stem cells in coral. Understanding the evolution and diversity of germlines in animals and corals can provide insights for adaptation in the face of climate change.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
