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Jul
22
2008
Susceptibility to bleaching is down to the fine-scale genetic type of a coral's dinoflagellate symbionts, according to a study published this week in PNAS. A group of University of Queensland marine biologists, led by Eugenia Sampayo, followed the fate of individually tagged corals Stylophora pistillata on the Great Barrier Reef, monitoring the conditions under which they suffered bleaching and subsequently recovered. The broad symbiont “clades” -- genetic subdivisions – weren't sufficient to explain the observed pattern of bleaching. However, within the “C” clade, some subtypes were more thermally tolerant than others. The discovery suggests a return to the drawing board might be needed to fully understand the role symbionts play in their reef-building host's ability to withstand changing climatic conditions. Source: Sampayo EM, Ridgway T, Bongaerts P & Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Bleaching susceptibility and mortality of corals is determined by fine-scale differences in symbiont type. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0708049105
Image: © Giorgio Fochesato
Filed Under Climate change, Endangered species, Marine, Monitoring |
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