Regulation of ion transport and energy metabolism enables certain coral genotypes to maintain calcification under experimental ocean acidification

Cold‐water corals (CWCs) are important foundation species in the world's largest ecosystem, the deep sea. They support a rich faunal diversity but are threatened by climate change and increased ocean acidification. As part of this study, fragments from three genetically distinct Lophelia pertusa colonies were subjected to ambient pH (pH = 7.9) and low pH (pH = 7.6) for six months. RNA was sampled at two, 4.5, and 8.5 weeks and sequenced. The colony from which the fragments were sampled explained most of the variance in expression patterns, but a general pattern emerged where upregulation of ion transport, required to maintain normal function and calcification, was coincident with lowered expression of genes involved in metabolic processes; RNA regulation and processing in particular. Furthermore, there was no differential expression of carbonic anhydrase detected in any analyses, which agrees with a previously described lack of response in enzyme activity in the same corals. However, one colony was able to maintain calcification longer than the other colonies when exposed to low pH and showed increased expression of ion transport genes including proton transport and expression of genes associated with formation of microtubules and the organic matrix, suggesting that certain genotypes may be better equipped to cope with ocean acidification in the future. While these genotypes exist in the contemporary gene pool, further stresses would reduce the genetic variability of the species, which would have repercussions for the maintenance of existing populations and the ecosystem as a whole.     

有害植物孪花蟛蜞菊扩张对西沙岛屿陆生软体动物的影响

有害植物孪花蟛蜞菊(Wedelia biflora)的扩张对我国西沙群岛原生植物群落结构和功能产生了深刻影响, 但陆生软体动物如何响应该扩张却未见报道。本文调查了西沙群岛永兴岛孪花蟛蜞菊不同扩张程度下褐云玛瑙螺(Achatina fulica)、钻头螺科、坚齿螺科和拟阿勇蛞蝓科等主要陆生软体动物的残体分布情况, 测定了残体的分布密度和壳高、壳宽、壳重等可量化性状指标, 研究了孪花蟛蜞菊扩张对陆生软体动物种群的影响。结果表明: (1)随孪花蟛蜞菊扩张程度增加, 钻头螺科和褐云玛瑙螺的种群密度增加, 坚齿螺科种群密度减小, 拟阿勇蛞蝓科种群密度出现先增加后减少的趋势; (2)陆生软体动物类群的体型分布频率随孪花蟛蜞菊扩张呈现不同的变化趋势, 褐云玛瑙螺较小个体数量增加, 其他陆生软体动物体型分布变化不明显或较大体型残体分布增加; (3)孪花蟛蜞菊扩张对褐云玛瑙螺体型特征产生抑制作用, 褐云玛瑙螺主要采用r策略来响应有害植物扩张的影响。综上, 有害植物孪花蟛蜞菊在热带珊瑚岛屿植被中的扩张改变了陆生软体动物的形态、密度与种群结构, 不同的软体生物类群表现出不同响应策略, 在海岛有害生物的综合防治过程中应该引起足够重视。     

Coralclip®: a low‐cost solution for rapid and targeted out‐planting of coral at scale

Re‐attaching or out‐planting coral as fragments, colonies, and on larval settlement devices to substrates is a major bottleneck limiting scalabilty and viability of reef restoration practices. Many attachment approaches are in use, but none that are low‐cost, opportunistic, rapid but effective, for integration into existing tour operations on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) where staff and boat time is a major cost and chemical fixatives cannot be easily used. We describe a novel attachment device—Coralclip®—developed to meet this need and so aid maintenance and restoration of GBR tourism sites. Coralclip® is a stainless steel springclip attached by a nail integrated through the spring coil, and can be deployed with a coral fragment in as fast as 15 seconds. Initial laboratory tests demonstrated that Coralclip® secured coral fragments or larval settlement tiles under dynamic flow regimes characteristic of exposed reefs. Coral out‐planting from fragments of opportunity and from nurseries (n = 4,580; 0.3–1.9 coral/minute; US$0.6–3.0/coral deployed) or larval settlement tiles (n = 400; 2.5 tiles/minute; US$0.5 tile deployed^?1) when deployed by divers from routine boat operations at Opal Reef confirmed highly effective attachment, with ≤15% failure of clips found after 3–7 months. We discuss how Coralclip® is a cost‐effective means to support reef maintenance and restoration practices.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL COMPARISON OF ALGAL BIODIVERSITY AND BENTHIC COVER AT GARDNER PINNACLES,NORTHWESTERN HAWAI`IAN ISLANDS1

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawai`ian Islands is the second largest marine protected area in the world, providing an opportunity for scientists to understand natural ecosystem fluctuations in subtropical marine communities with little anthropogenic impact. Gardner Pinnacles is composed of two emergent basaltic rocks and has the smallest land area of any island in the Northwestern Hawai`ian Island chain but has among the largest submerged reef area. Gardner Pinnacles is also among the least anthropogenically impacted island in the Hawai`ian Archipelago, although a thriving lobster and bottomfish industry existed in the area for many years. This study assesses nearshore algal biodiversity and percent cover at Gardner Pinnacles to examine interannual differences in community dynamics and places them in an ecosystem context by also examining associated invertebrate and fish communities. Biodiversity surveys increased the number of known eukaryotic algal species occurring in marine environments immediately adjacent to the emergent portion of Gardner Pinnacles from 31 to 77. Algal percent cover, specifically populations of the green alga Microdictyon setchellianum M. Howe, varied dramatically between sampling years, possibly in response to seasonal differences. Towed‐diver surveys revealed that macroalgae covered >90% of the substrate during the 2003 sampling period but returned to 2000 levels (1%–35% cover) by 2004 without any detectable damage to other reef organisms. Fish communities remained statistically similar between sampling years, and percent cover of live coral around the island did not exceed 7%.     

海人树的生态生物学特性

海人树(Suriana maritima)是海人树科的一种滨海观赏植物，目前在中国仅分布于南海诸岛。该文以西沙群岛自然生长的海人树为研究对象，通过调查、采样，分析测定其茎杆及其叶片的形态解剖结构、叶片的抗氧化酶活性和抗逆渗透物质含量，以及叶片与生长土壤的营养元素含量等生态生物学特性。结果表明：(1)海人树的叶片小而厚，角质层明显，栅栏组织发达，气孔密度小(8.64 n·mm^-2),易于维持体内水分，能很好地适应干旱和高盐碱的环境；叶片的叶绿素含量低(0.76 mg·g^-1),总抗氧化能力高(589.50 U·g^-1),脯氨酸含量高(1 123.64μg·g^-1),表明海人树光合利用效率高，抗氧化能力强。(2)海人树根际土壤的养分含量低，而叶片有机碳、氮、磷含量较高(分别为490.27、18.10、3.81 g·kg^-1),表明海人树的土壤养分利用效率高，对贫瘠的土壤具有良好的适应能力。综上表明，海人树对强光、干旱、高盐碱和土壤贫瘠的热带珊瑚岛环境具有良好的适应能力，可作为热带珊...     

Species richness of resident and transient coral-dwelling fish responds differentially to regional diversity

Aim To determine whether the diversity of resident and transient coral‐dwelling fish responds differentially to gradients in regional species richness. Location Three regions in the Indo‐Pacific (Red Sea, western Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef) which contain increasingly larger regional diversities of reef fish. Methods I surveyed fish residing within branching coral species. Fish species were a priori categorized as resident or transient based on the degree of affiliation between the fish and live coral. To compare among regions that differ in coral diversity I used a modified species–volume relationship (SVR). Each point in the SVR represents the total number of fish species, resident or transient, found within the cumulative volume of a specific coral species. Empirical SVRs were further compared with random‐placement null models. Results For transient species, I found that the observed SVRs did not differ consistently from those expected from random samples drawn from the corresponding regional species pools. In addition, for a given volume of coral, more fish species were found in richer regions, indicating strong regional influences on local diversity. In contrast, resident richness was lower than that expected from random samples of the species pool, and richness in rich regions was reduced comparably more than in poor regions. The SVRs of resident species were similar among regions with different regional diversities. Main conclusion These results suggest that, within coral species, transient fish richness is mostly influenced by stochastic allocation of species from the regional pool. Conversely, richness of resident species within a coral species is limited, making it independent of regional diversity. Since higher regional diversity of resident fish was not accompanied by higher richness per coral species or by decreased niche breadth, higher regional diversity of resident fish species must be rooted in higher coral richness. Consequently, ecological interactions between functional groups (coral and fish) can be powerful drivers of regional biodiversity.     

Sperm and milt characteristics and male v. female gametic investment in the Caribbean reef fish, Thalassoma bifasciatum

Individual sperm cells produced by two male morphs of the bluehead wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum did not differ in size (i.e. cell volume). Initial phase (IP) males (high sperm competition) had a 60% higher sperm concentration in their milt than did terminal phase (TP) males (low sperm competition), which may reflect differences in how accurately the two male morphs need to allocate sperm to their spawns. The energy density of milt was about 16% lower than that of eggs. Estimates of gametic energy investment based on (a) the difference in testis weights between the beginning and the end of the spawning period and (b) the number of sperm released in natural spawns (determined in other studies), suggested that, on a daily basis, IP males invest about 65% of that of females. Estimates based on stripping milt from IP males at the beginning and the end of the spawning period, however, indicated that their daily energy investment in gamete production is about 10% of that of females Gametic investment by TP males is lower than that by both IP males and females.     

Characterization of 16 microsatellite loci for a common coral reef fish,the fierce shrimpgoby Ctenogobiops feroculus

We developed 16 pairs of primers for microsatellite loci of the fierce shrimpgoby, Ctenogobiops feroculus. Analysis of 35–40 gobies per locus from five islands in French Polynesia indicated that allele frequency varied from two to 30 per locus, while observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.05 and 0.98. These microsatellites should provide insight into patterns of dispersal and connectivity among populations of this common coral reef fish.     

Six microsatellite loci from the deep‐sea coral Corallium lauuense (Octocorallia: Coralliidae) from the islands and seamounts of the Hawaiian archipelago

Gorgonian octocorals are among the dominant deep‐sea benthic taxa of many seamounts. Seamount fauna are threatened by destructive fisheries practices, yet little is known about the physical and biological processes that maintain species on seamounts. Few informative molecular markers have been found in deep‐water corals or in gorgonian octocorals. Here we report the characterization of six highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the deep‐sea precious coral Corallium lauuense from Hawaii using enriched genomic DNA libraries. These loci are being used to examine gene flow and stock structure among seamount and island populations to better understand dispersal and connectivity of seamount species.