NDLI: Food availability promotes rapid recovery from thermal stress in a scleractinian coral

Content Provider	SpringerLink
Author	Conlly, S. R. Lopez Yglesias, M. A. Anthony, K. R. N.
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	Bleaching in corals due to environmental stress represents a loss of energy intake often leading to an increase in mortality risk. Successful coral recovery from severe bleaching events may depend on the rate of replenishment of algal symbiont populations following the period of thermal stress, the supply of an alternative food source, or both. Here, we explore the role of food availability in promoting the survival and recovery of a common coral (Acropora intermedia) following acute experimentally induced thermal stress. Fed corals were provided with live rotifers daily, to maintain densities of zooplankton in tanks that are typical of coral reefs. After a 6-week acclimation phase, heated corals were subjected to a +4 °C thermal anomaly for a 7-day period (bleaching phase) then temperatures were returned to normal for a further 2 weeks (recovery phase). Results demonstrated that heated corals had higher survival when they were provided with heterotrophic food. Fed corals experienced reduced loss of chlorophyll a, relative to unfed corals. During the recovery phase, both fed and unfed corals recovered within a few days; however, fed corals recovered to pre-bleaching phase levels of chlorophyll a, whereas unfed corals stabilized approximately one-third below this level. Protein levels of fed corals declined markedly during the bleaching phase, but recovered all of their losses by the end of the recovery phase. In contrast, unfed corals had low protein levels that were maintained throughout the experiment. To the extent that these results are representative of corals’ responses to thermal anomalies in nature, the findings imply that availability of particulate food matter has the potential to increase corals’ capacity to survive thermally induced bleaching and to ameliorate its sub-lethal effects. They also support the hypothesis that different rates of heterotrophy are an important determinant of variation in resilience to thermal stress among reef environments.
Starting Page	951
Ending Page	960
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISSN	07224028
Journal	Coral Reefs
Volume Number	31
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	14320975
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2012-06-20
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Coral bleaching Recovery Heterotrophy Phototrophy Nutrients Oceanography Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Aquatic Science

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Libarray of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Bleaching, disease and recovery in the threatened scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands: 2003–2010

Coscinaraea marshae corals that have survived prolonged bleaching exhibit signs of increased heterotrophic feeding

Impact of feeding and short-term temperature stress on the content and isotopic signature of fatty acids, sterols, and alcohols in the scleractinian coral Turbinaria reniformis

Large-amplitude internal waves sustain coral health during thermal stress

Bleaching response of coral species in the context of assemblage response

Carbon translocation from symbiont to host depends on irradiance and food availability in the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata

Clypeotheca, a new skeletal structure in scleractinian corals: a potential stress indicator

Coral reef recovery dynamics in a changing world

Thermal responses of Symbiodinium photosynthetic carbon assimilation

Food availability promotes rapid recovery from thermal stress in a scleractinian coral

Similar Documents

Bleaching, disease and recovery in the threatened scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands: 2003–2010

Coscinaraea marshae corals that have survived prolonged bleaching exhibit signs of increased heterotrophic feeding

Impact of feeding and short-term temperature stress on the content and isotopic signature of fatty acids, sterols, and alcohols in the scleractinian coral Turbinaria reniformis

Large-amplitude internal waves sustain coral health during thermal stress

Bleaching response of coral species in the context of assemblage response

Carbon translocation from symbiont to host depends on irradiance and food availability in the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata

Clypeotheca, a new skeletal structure in scleractinian corals: a potential stress indicator

Coral reef recovery dynamics in a changing world

Thermal responses of Symbiodinium photosynthetic carbon assimilation

Food availability promotes rapid recovery from thermal stress in a scleractinian coral