Location-specific responses to thermal stress in larvae of the reef-building coral Montastraea faveolata.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The potential to adapt to a changing climate depends in part upon the standing genetic variation present in wild populations. In corals, the dispersive larval phase is particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental stress. Larval survival and response to stress during dispersal and settlement will play a key role in the persistence of coral populations.

Methodology/principal findings

To test the hypothesis that larval transcription profiles reflect location-specific responses to thermal stress, symbiont-free gametes from three to four colonies of the scleractinian coral Montastraea faveolata were collected from Florida and Mexico, fertilized, and raised under mean and elevated (up 1 to 2 degrees C above summer mean) temperatures. These locations have been

SUBMITTER: Polato NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2890407 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature