TY - JOUR
T1 - Does predation exacerbate the risk of endosymbiont loss in heat stressed hermatypic corals?
T2 - Molecular cues provide insights into species-specific health outcomes in a multi-stressor ocean
AU - Madeira, Carolina
AU - Dias, Marta
AU - Ferreira, Ana
AU - Gouveia, Raúl
AU - Cabral, Henrique N.
AU - Diniz, Mário S.
AU - Vinagre, Catarina
N1 - info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/3599-PPCDT/PTDC%2FMAR-EST%2F2141%2F2012/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04292%2F2020/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04326%2F2020/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04378%2F2020/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F04378%2F2020/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/CEEC IND 2018/CEECIND%2F01526%2F2018%2FCP1564%2FCT0008/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/OE/SFRH%2FBD%2F103047%2F2014/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/810139/EU#
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - Ocean warming has been a major driver of coral reef bleaching and mass mortality. Coupled to other biotic pressures, corals’ ability for acclimatization and adaptation may become compromised. Here, we tested the combined effects of warming scenarios (26, 30, and 32°C) and predation (wound vs. no wound) in coral health condition (paleness, bleaching, and mortality), cellular stress responses (heat shock protein 70 kDa Hsp70, total ubiquitin Ub, and total antioxidant capacity TAC), and physiological state (integrated biomarker response index, IBR) of seven Scleractinian coral species, after being exposed for 60 days. Results show that although temperature was the main factor driving coral health condition, thermotolerant species (Galaxea fascicularis, Psammocora contigua, and Turbinaria reniformis) displayed increased paleness, bleaching, and mortality in predation treatments at high temperature, whereas thermosensitive species (Acropora tenuis, Echinopora lamellosa, and Montipora capricornis brown and green morphotypes) all died at 32°C, regardless of predation condition. At the molecular level, results show that there were significant main and interactive effects of species, temperature, and predation in the biomarkers assessed. Temperature affected Hsp70, Ub, and TAC, evidencing the role of protein folding and turnover, as well as reactive oxygen species scavenging in heat stress management. Predation increased Hsp70 and Ub, suggesting the activation of the pro-phenoloxidase system and cytokine activity, whereas the combination of both stressors mainly affected TAC during moderate stress and Ub under severe stress, suggesting that redox balance and defense of homeostasis are crucial in tissue repair at high temperature. IBR levels showed an increasing trend at 32°C in predated coral fragments (although non-significant). We conclude that coral responses to the combination of high temperature and predation pressure display high inter-species variability, but these stressors may pose a higher risk of endosymbiont loss, depending on species physiology and stress intensity.
AB - Ocean warming has been a major driver of coral reef bleaching and mass mortality. Coupled to other biotic pressures, corals’ ability for acclimatization and adaptation may become compromised. Here, we tested the combined effects of warming scenarios (26, 30, and 32°C) and predation (wound vs. no wound) in coral health condition (paleness, bleaching, and mortality), cellular stress responses (heat shock protein 70 kDa Hsp70, total ubiquitin Ub, and total antioxidant capacity TAC), and physiological state (integrated biomarker response index, IBR) of seven Scleractinian coral species, after being exposed for 60 days. Results show that although temperature was the main factor driving coral health condition, thermotolerant species (Galaxea fascicularis, Psammocora contigua, and Turbinaria reniformis) displayed increased paleness, bleaching, and mortality in predation treatments at high temperature, whereas thermosensitive species (Acropora tenuis, Echinopora lamellosa, and Montipora capricornis brown and green morphotypes) all died at 32°C, regardless of predation condition. At the molecular level, results show that there were significant main and interactive effects of species, temperature, and predation in the biomarkers assessed. Temperature affected Hsp70, Ub, and TAC, evidencing the role of protein folding and turnover, as well as reactive oxygen species scavenging in heat stress management. Predation increased Hsp70 and Ub, suggesting the activation of the pro-phenoloxidase system and cytokine activity, whereas the combination of both stressors mainly affected TAC during moderate stress and Ub under severe stress, suggesting that redox balance and defense of homeostasis are crucial in tissue repair at high temperature. IBR levels showed an increasing trend at 32°C in predated coral fragments (although non-significant). We conclude that coral responses to the combination of high temperature and predation pressure display high inter-species variability, but these stressors may pose a higher risk of endosymbiont loss, depending on species physiology and stress intensity.
KW - biomarkers
KW - coral reefs
KW - endosymbiont loss
KW - health condition
KW - molecular responses
KW - ocean warming
KW - predation
KW - tissue wounds
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127137509&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fphys.2022.801672
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2022.801672
M3 - Article
C2 - 35299660
SN - 1664-042X
VL - 13
SP - 1
EP - 19
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
JF - Frontiers in Physiology
M1 - 801672
ER -