Abstract
Coral reefs are among the most diverse and complex ecosystems in the world that provide important ecological and economical services. Increases in sea surface temperature linked to global climate change threatens these ecosystems by inducing coral bleaching. However, it is not fully known if natural intra- or inter-annual physiological variability is linked to bleaching resilience or recovery capacity of corals. Here, we monitored the coral physiology of three common Caribbean species (Porites divaricata, Porites astreoides, Orbicella faveolata) at six time points over 2 years by measuring the following traits: calcification, biomass, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, chlorophyll a, algal endosymbiont density, stable carbon isotopes of the host and endosymbiotic algae, and the stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of the skeleton. The overall physiological profile of all three species varied over time and that of P. divaricata was consistently different from the two other coral species. Porites divaricata had higher energy reserves coupled with higher contributions of heterotrophically derived carbon to host tissues than both P. astreoides and O. faveolata. Consistently higher overall energy reserves and heterotrophic contributions to tissues appear to buffer against environmental stress, including bleaching events. Thus, natural physiological variability among coral species appears to be a stronger predictor of coral bleaching resilience than intra- or inter-annual physiological variability within a coral species.
Highlights
Coral reef ecosystems have important ecological and economic value, as they provide critical habitat for associated species and support billions of dollars each year to the global economy (e.g., Costanza et al, 2014; Hoegh-Guldberg, 2015; Spalding et al, 2017)
Coral reef ecosystems are threatened by increasing seawater temperatures associated with global climate change, leading to rising frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events (e.g., Teneva et al, 2012; Frieler et al, 2013; Cziesielski et al, 2019)
Mild paling was observed for some O. faveolata ramets in June 2010 (11 months), September 2010 (13.5 months) and June 2011 (23 months), and in P. divaricata ramets in September 2010 (13.5 months) and June 2011 (23 months) (Supplementary Table 1)
Summary
Coral reef ecosystems have important ecological and economic value, as they provide critical habitat for associated species and support billions of dollars each year to the global economy (e.g., Costanza et al, 2014; Hoegh-Guldberg, 2015; Spalding et al, 2017). Coral reef ecosystems are threatened by increasing seawater temperatures associated with global climate change, leading to rising frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events (e.g., Teneva et al, 2012; Frieler et al, 2013; Cziesielski et al, 2019). The link between natural temporal variability in physiology and bleaching remains poorly understood
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