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Elevated temperature impairs onset of symbiosis and reduces survivorship in larvae of the Hawaiian coral, Fungia scutaria

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Abstract

Many corals obtain their obligate intracellular dinoflagellate symbionts from the environment as larvae or juveniles. The process of symbiont acquisition remains largely unexplored, especially under stress. This study addressed both the ability of Fungia scutaria (Lamarck 1801) larvae to establish symbiosis with Symbiodinium sp. C1f while exposed to elevated temperature and the survivorship of aposymbiotic and newly symbiotic larvae under these conditions. Larvae were exposed to 27, 29, or 31°C for 1 h prior to infection, throughout a 3-h infection period, and up to 72 h following infection. Exposure to elevated temperatures impaired the ability of coral larvae to establish symbiosis and reduced larval survivorship. At 31°C, the presence of symbionts further reduced larval survivorship. As sea surface temperatures rise, coral larvae exposed to elevated temperatures during symbiosis onset will likely be negatively impacted, which in turn could affect the establishment of future generations of corals.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by a PADI Foundation grant; a Dr. Earl and Ethel Myers Oceanographic and Marine Biology Trust grant; and the Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research (American Museum of Natural History) to C.E. Schnitzler; and by National Science Foundation #IOS-0542452 and #IOS-0919073 to V.M. Weis. We thank Andrew Baird, Santiago Perez, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty, and Cliff Ross and for helpful advice; Elisha Wood-Charlson, Jessi Kershner, and Olivier Detournay for assistance in the field; Jeremy Polk for help counting larvae; and Ruth Gates for generously providing equipment and space. This is Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology contribution # 1476.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    C. E. Schnitzler & V. M. Weis

  2. Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA

    L. L. Hollingsworth

  3. Department of Natural Sciences, Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA

    D. A. Krupp

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  1. C. E. Schnitzler
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  2. L. L. Hollingsworth
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  3. D. A. Krupp
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  4. V. M. Weis
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Correspondence to C. E. Schnitzler.

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Communicated by M. Kühl.

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Schnitzler, C.E., Hollingsworth, L.L., Krupp, D.A. et al. Elevated temperature impairs onset of symbiosis and reduces survivorship in larvae of the Hawaiian coral, Fungia scutaria . Mar Biol 159, 633–642 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1842-0

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