A community change in the symbionts of a scleractinian coral

following a natural bleaching event: field evidence ofacclimatization

Alison Jones, Ray Berkelmans, Madeleine van Oppen,

Jos Mieog, William Sinclair

Miall IslandKeppel Islands

Great Barrier Reef

Acropora millepora

Bleaching events

20022002 2006

The coral symbiosis

coral polyp

zooxanthellae(algae)

‘coral bleaching’ is the expulsion of the algal

symbiont

Symbiodinium ITS1 types

Type C2

Type D

Type C1

Type D* SSCP

The coral symbiosis

Photosyntetically Photosyntetically fixed carbonfixed carbon

lipidslipidsCOCO22

CaCa2+2+

Thermal tolerance

D

C2C2

C2/D

Coral mortality

Bleaching can Bleaching can eventually result in eventually result in the death of the the death of the coral host and coral host and proliferation of proliferation of coral diseasecoral disease(Douglas, 2003)(Douglas, 2003)

healthy coralhealthy coral

‘‘old’ dead coralold’ dead coral

recently dead recently dead or diseasedor diseased

Symbiont shuffling

Symbiont community shift

050

100150200250300350400450500

C2 D C1

05

101520253035

C2 C1 D

-5

5

15

25

35

C2 C1 D0

10

20

30

C2 C1 D

noneDC2C1D*2+

Type C2

Type D

Type C2/D

Type C1

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

Jan-

01

Mar

-01

May

-01

Jul-0

1

Sep

-01

Nov

-01

Jan-

02

Mar

-02

May

-02

Jul-0

2

Sep

-02

Nov

-02

Jan-

03

Mar

-03

May

-03

Jul-0

3

Sep

-03

Nov

-03

Jan-

04

Mar

-04

May

-04

Jul-0

4

Sep

-04

Nov

-04

Jan-

05

Mar

-05

May

-05

Jul-0

5

Sep

-05

Nov

-05

Jan-

06

TEMPC

2006 2006 bleaching bleaching

eventevent

51%

5%

25%

6%

2002 2002 bleaching bleaching

eventevent

AIMS Halftide Rocks temperatures (mean AIMS Halftide Rocks temperatures (mean ± SD± SD °C)°C)

Chloroplast cell membrane

Thylakoid membraneThylakoid lumen

2H2O O2 + 4H+

CYT B6f

complexPSII

H+

H+

PSI

Fd FNR ATP

synthase

H+

ATP

ADP + ADP + PP22NADP

+ 2H+

CO2

Calvin Cycle of carbon fixation

Starch synthesis

e-

LHC

DDC2C2

Physiological costs of adaptation?

Acknowledgements

This project made possible by support from the

Australian Institute of Marine Science,Central Queensland University

andUniversity of Groningen

Climate change

IPCC multi-model ensemble (Meehl, 2007)

↑ 2.0 – 4.5 °C

ReferencesBerkelmans, R. and M. J. H. van Oppen (2006). "The role of zooxanthellae in the thermal tolerance of corals: a ‘nugget of hope’ for coral reefs in an era of climate change." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences (1934-1990).

Done, T. (1992). "Phase shifts in coral reef communities and their ecological significance." Hydrobiologia 247: 121-132.

Done, T., P. Whetton, et al. (2003). Chapter 11: Global climate and coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Final report to the State of Queensland Greenhouse Task Force, Department of Natural Resources and Mining, www.nrm.qld.gov.au/science/climate.html: 33.

Hoegh-Guldberg, O., P. J. Mumby, et al. (2007). "Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification." Science 318(5857): 1737-1742.

IPCC, Ed. (2001). Climate change 2001: The scientific basis: Contribution of Working Group I to the third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change, New York : Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Meehl, G. A., T. F. Stocker, et al. (2007). Chapter 10: Global climate projections. Climate change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of: Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press.

Mieog, J. C., M. J. H. Van Oppen, et al. (in press). "Quantification of algal endosymbionts (Symbiodinium) in coral tissue using real-time PCR."

Mieog, J. C., M. J. H. Van Oppen, et al. (2007). "Real-time PCR reveals a high incidence of Symbiodinium clade D at low levels in four scleractinian corals across the Great Barrier Reef: implications for symbiont shuffling." Coral Reefs 26(3): 449-457.

Mieog, J. C., M. J. H. van Oppen, et al. (in press). "Enormous potential for shuffling of algal symbionts in reef corals."

Muscatine, L. (1990). The role of symbiotic algae in carbon and energy flux in reef corals. Ecosystems of the world 25: Coral reefs. Dubinsky. New York, Elsiever. 25: 75-87.

Ostrander, G. K., K. M. Armstrong, et al. (2000). "Rapid transition in the structure of a coral reef community: The effects of coral bleaching and physical disturbance." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97(10): 5297-5302.

Pittock, B., Ed. (2003). Climate Change: An Australian Guide to the Science and Potential Impacts, Australian Greenhouse Office.

Smith, C. (2004). The molecular and genetic basis for variation in thermal tolerance in a common reef-building species on the inshore Great Barrier Reef. Townsville, James Cook University. PhD Thesis.

Ulstrup, K. E. and M. J. H. van Oppen (2003). "Geographic and habitat partitioning of genetically distinct zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium) in Acropora corals on the Great Barrier Reef." Molecular Ecology 12(12): 3477-3484.

van Oppen, M. J. H., F. P. Palstra, et al. (2001). "Patterns of coral-dinoflagellate associations in Acropora: significance of local availability and physiology of Symbiodinium strains and host-symbiont selectivity." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences (1934-1990) 268(1478): 1759-1767.

Wakeford, M., T. J. Done, et al. (2007). "Decadal trends in a coral community and evidence of changed disturbance regime." Coral Reefs On-line First.

Wilkinson, C., Ed. (2004). Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2004. Townsville, Australian Institute of Marine Science.