Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo NY 14260, USA.
Sci Adv. 2023 Nov 24;9(47):eadj6788. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj6788. Epub 2023 Nov 22.
Unlike reef-building, scleractinian corals, Caribbean soft corals (octocorals) have not suffered marked declines in abundance associated with anthropogenic ocean warming. Both octocorals and reef-building scleractinians depend on a nutritional symbiosis with single-celled algae living within their tissues. In both groups, increased ocean temperatures can induce symbiont loss (bleaching) and coral death. Multiple heat waves from 2014 to 2016 resulted in widespread damage to reef ecosystems and provided an opportunity to examine the bleaching response of three Caribbean octocoral species. Symbiont densities declined during the heat waves but recovered quickly, and colony mortality was low. The dominant symbiont genotypes within a host generally did not change, and all colonies hosted symbiont species in the genus Their association with thermally tolerant symbionts likely contributes to the octocoral holobiont's resistance to mortality and the resilience of their symbiont populations. The resistance and resilience of Caribbean octocorals offer clues for the future of coral reefs.
与造礁珊瑚不同，加勒比海软珊瑚（八放珊瑚）的丰度并未因人为海洋变暖而显著下降。八放珊瑚和造礁珊瑚都依赖于与其组织内的单细胞藻类进行营养共生。在这两个群体中，海洋温度的升高会导致共生体的丧失（白化）和珊瑚死亡。2014 年至 2016 年的多次热浪对珊瑚礁生态系统造成了广泛的破坏，为研究三种加勒比八放珊瑚物种的白化反应提供了机会。在热浪期间，共生体密度下降，但很快恢复，且群体死亡率较低。宿主内占主导地位的共生体基因型通常不会改变，所有的群体都拥有属的共生体物种。它们与耐热共生体的关联可能有助于八放珊瑚的整体对死亡的抵抗力和共生体种群的恢复力。加勒比海八放珊瑚的抵抗力和恢复力为珊瑚礁的未来提供了线索。
