Elevated seawater temperature causes a microbial shift on crustose coralline algae with implications for the recruitment of coral larvae.

ABSTRACT: Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are key reef-building primary producers that are known to induce the metamorphosis and recruitment of many species of coral larvae. Reef biofilms (particularly microorganisms associated with CCA) are also important as settlement cues for a variety of marine invertebrates, including corals. If rising sea surface temperatures (SSTs) affect CCA and/or their associated biofilms, this may in turn affect recruitment on coral reefs. Herein, we report that the CCA Neogoniolithon fosliei, and its associated microbial communities do not tolerate SSTs of 32 °C, only 2-4 °C above the mean maximum annual SST. After 7 days at 32 °C, the CCA exhibited clear signs of stress, including bleaching, a reduction in maximum quantum yield (F(v)/F(m)) and a large shift in microbial

SUBMITTER: Webster NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3105747 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature