Intergenerational effects of macroalgae on a reef coral: major declines in larval survival but subtle changes in microbiomes.

ABSTRACT: Tropical reefs are shifting from coral to macroalgal dominance, with macroalgae suppressing coral recovery, potentially via effects on coral microbiomes. Understanding how macroalgae affect corals and their microbiomes requires comparing algae- versus coral-dominated reefs without confounding aspects of time and geography. We compared survival, settlement, and post-settlement survival of larvae, as well as the microbiomes of larvae and adults, of the Pacific coral Pocillopora damicornis between an Marine Protected Area (MPA) dominated by corals versus an adjacent fished area dominated by macroalgae. Microbiome composition in adult coral, larval coral, and seawater did not differ between the MPA and fished area. However, microbiomes of adult coral were more variable in the fished are

SUBMITTER: Beatty DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6261492 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature