Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The architecturally important coral species Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata were historically common in the Caribbean, but have declined precipitously since the early 1980s. Substantial resources are currently being dedicated to coral gardening and the subsequent outplanting of asexually reproduced colonies of Acropora, activities that provide abundant biomass for both restoration efforts and for experimental studies to better understand the ecology of these critically endangered coral species.

Methods

We characterized the bacterial and archaeal community composition of A. cervicornis corals in a Caribbean nursery to determine the heterogeneity of the microbiome within and among colonies. Samples were taken from three distinct locat

SUBMITTER: Miller N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7456258 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature