Coral larvae increase nitrogen assimilation to stabilize algal symbiosis and combat bleaching under increased temperature.

ABSTRACT: Rising sea surface temperatures are increasingly causing breakdown in the nutritional relationship between corals and algal endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae), threatening the basis of coral reef ecosystems and highlighting the critical role of coral reproduction in reef maintenance. The effects of thermal stress on metabolic exchange (i.e., transfer of fixed carbon photosynthates from symbiont to host) during sensitive early life stages, however, remains understudied. We exposed symbiotic Montipora capitata coral larvae in Hawai'i to high temperature (+2.5°C for 3 days), assessed rates of photosynthesis and respiration, and used stable isotope tracing (4 mM 13C sodium bicarbonate; 4.5 h) to quantify metabolite exchange. While larvae did not show any signs of bleaching and did not experience

SUBMITTER: Huffmyer AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11556732 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature