Data

Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis

Name: Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis
Published: 2025

Australian Institute of Marine Science

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)

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ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2FANDS&rft_id=https://apps.aims.gov.au/metadata/view/73e74290-aa7e-4820-9d51-f0e266999e9b&rft.title=Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis&rft.identifier=https://apps.aims.gov.au/metadata/view/73e74290-aa7e-4820-9d51-f0e266999e9b&rft.publisher=Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)&rft.description=An 18-month reciprocal field transplant experiment was undertaken to examine the environmental and genetic drivers behind variation in survival, weight gain, heat tolerance and algal symbiont community between the reef flat and slope habitats.Pocillopora damicornis colonies from Heron Island were used in a two-part experiment of a replicated RTE across depth habitats and a common garden stress test. Three vital traits were measured between March 2012 – August 2013., and then the relative heat tolerance was measured by exposing the surviving colonies to 14 days of ex situ experimental heat stress.At each site and habitat, 23 – 26 colonies were collected (total n = 97) and fragmented into two halves. One half of each colony was places onto experimental rack in its habitat of origin and the other haps was transplanted to the reciprocal habitat within each site. 2 x 2 m wire mesh racks were installed approximately 0.5m above the substrate and fragmented coral colonies were attached across the rack with cable ties in a haphazard manner. This resulted in four treatment groups replicated at two sites: flat to flat (FF), flat to slope (FS), slope to flat (SF), and slope to slope (SS).Partial colony mortality and weight gain were measured in the field four times between March 2021 and August 2013. A number of colonies were sampled for Symbiodiniaceae community in coral tissue per site and treatment group at two time points in April 2012 and March 2013.At the end of the field transplant experiment on 17 August 2013, the remaining live colonies were transported to the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, and kept in outdoor 1000L tanks for 10 days. They were then further fragmented into single branches and acclimatized in indoor 30L flow-through tanks at 24°C. Treatment temperatures for the heat stress exposure included 24°C, 29°C, 30°C and 31°C. Between 3 and 20 replicate fragments per colony were exposed each temperature level, for a total of 14 days heat stress. Heat tolerance was quantified by proxy of the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), measured with Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) fluorometry.Analyses were conducted of Symbiodiniaceae community composition by source and transplant habitats (flat and slope) and physiological traits, percent partial mortality and percent cumulative weight gain. Heat stress analysis was also conducted among different temperatures and contrasts of treatment groups.See published papers linked below for further details.Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlannedStatement: Trip 5433 for deployment of experiment in field / Trip 5830 retrieval.&rft.creator=Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) &rft.date=2025&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.924525; southlimit=-23.455222; eastlimit=151.924525; northlimit=-23.455222&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.924525; southlimit=-23.455222; eastlimit=151.924525; northlimit=-23.455222&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.912872; southlimit=-23.446806; eastlimit=151.912872; northlimit=-23.446806&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.912872; southlimit=-23.446806; eastlimit=151.912872; northlimit=-23.446806&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.912906; southlimit=-23.447372; eastlimit=151.912906; northlimit=-23.447372&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.912906; southlimit=-23.447372; eastlimit=151.912906; northlimit=-23.447372&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.926264; southlimit=-23.454028; eastlimit=151.926264; northlimit=-23.454028&rft.coverage=westlimit=151.926264; southlimit=-23.454028; eastlimit=151.926264; northlimit=-23.454028&rft_rights=Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/&rft_rights=Use Limitation: All AIMS data, products and services are provided as is and AIMS does not warrant their fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. While AIMS has made every reasonable effort to ensure high quality of the data, products and services, to the extent permitted by law the data, products and services are provided without any warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of title, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. AIMS make no representation or warranty that the data, products and services are accurate, complete, reliable or current. To the extent permitted by law, AIMS exclude all liability to any person arising directly or indirectly from the use of the data, products and services.&rft_rights=Attribution: Format for citation of metadata sourced from Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in a list of reference is as follows: Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). (2021). Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis. https://apps.aims.gov.au/metadata/view/73e74290-aa7e-4820-9d51-f0e266999e9b, accessed[date-of-access].&rft_subject=oceans&rft_subject=Gene Expression&rft.type=dataset&rft.language=English Access the data

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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/

Use Limitation: All AIMS data, products and services are provided "as is" and AIMS does not warrant their fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. While AIMS has made every reasonable effort to ensure high quality of the data, products and services, to the extent permitted by law the data, products and services are provided without any warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of title, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. AIMS make no representation or warranty that the data, products and services are accurate, complete, reliable or current. To the extent permitted by law, AIMS exclude all liability to any person arising directly or indirectly from the use of the data, products and services.

Attribution: Format for citation of metadata sourced from Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in a list of reference is as follows: "Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). (2021). Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis. https://apps.aims.gov.au/metadata/view/73e74290-aa7e-4820-9d51-f0e266999e9b, accessed[date-of-access]".

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Full description

An 18-month reciprocal field transplant experiment was undertaken to examine the environmental and genetic drivers behind variation in survival, weight gain, heat tolerance and algal symbiont community between the reef flat and slope habitats.

Pocillopora damicornis colonies from Heron Island were used in a two-part experiment of a replicated RTE across depth habitats and a common garden stress test. Three vital traits were measured between March 2012 – August 2013., and then the relative heat tolerance was measured by exposing the surviving colonies to 14 days of ex situ experimental heat stress.

At each site and habitat, 23 – 26 colonies were collected (total n = 97) and fragmented into two halves. One half of each colony was places onto experimental rack in its habitat of origin and the other haps was transplanted to the reciprocal habitat within each site. 2 x 2 m wire mesh racks were installed approximately 0.5m above the substrate and fragmented coral colonies were attached across the rack with cable ties in a haphazard manner. This resulted in four treatment groups replicated at two sites: flat to flat (FF), flat to slope (FS), slope to flat (SF), and slope to slope (SS).

Partial colony mortality and weight gain were measured in the field four times between March 2021 and August 2013. A number of colonies were sampled for Symbiodiniaceae community in coral tissue per site and treatment group at two time points in April 2012 and March 2013.

At the end of the field transplant experiment on 17 August 2013, the remaining live colonies were transported to the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, and kept in outdoor 1000L tanks for 10 days. They were then further fragmented into single branches and acclimatized in indoor 30L flow-through tanks at 24°C. Treatment temperatures for the heat stress exposure included 24°C, 29°C, 30°C and 31°C. Between 3 and 20 replicate fragments per colony were exposed each temperature level, for a total of 14 days heat stress. Heat tolerance was quantified by proxy of the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), measured with Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) fluorometry.

Analyses were conducted of Symbiodiniaceae community composition by source and transplant habitats (flat and slope) and physiological traits, percent partial mortality and percent cumulative weight gain. Heat stress analysis was also conducted among different temperatures and contrasts of treatment groups.

See published papers linked below for further details.

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned

Statement: Trip 5433 for deployment of experiment in field / Trip 5830 retrieval.

Notes

Credit
Logan, M. (AIMS)

Credit
van Oppen, MJH. (AIMS and AIMS@JCU) and University of Melbourne

Credit
Bay, LK. Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and AIMS@JCU

Credit
Marhoefer, SR. James Cook University (JCU) and AIMS@JCU

Credit
Zenger, KR. (JCU)

Credit
Strugnell, JM. La Trobe University and (JCU)

Credit
Kenkel, CD. (AIMS) and University of Southern California, USA

Modified: 19 09 2025

This dataset is part of a larger collection

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text: westlimit=151.924525; southlimit=-23.455222; eastlimit=151.924525; northlimit=-23.455222

text: westlimit=151.912872; southlimit=-23.446806; eastlimit=151.912872; northlimit=-23.446806

text: westlimit=151.912906; southlimit=-23.447372; eastlimit=151.912906; northlimit=-23.447372

text: westlimit=151.926264; southlimit=-23.454028; eastlimit=151.926264; northlimit=-23.454028

Subjects

Gene Expression | oceans |

User Contributed Tags

Other Information

van Oppen, M. J. H., Bongaerts, P., Frade, P., Peplow, L. M., Boyd, S. E., Nim, H. T., & Bay, L. K. (2018). Adaptation to reef habitats through selection on the coral animal and its associated microbiome. Molecular Ecology, 27(14), 2956–2971. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14763

doi : https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14763 DOI Link

ITS2 sequencing of Pocillopora damicornis can be found under NCBI Accession: PRJNA741589

uri : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA741589 External Link

Marhoefer, S. R., Zenger, K. R., Strugnell, J. M., Logan, M., van Oppen, M. J. H., Kenkel, C. D., & Bay, L. K. (2021). Signatures of Adaptation and Acclimatization to Reef Flat and Slope Habitats in the Coral Pocillopora damicornis. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 1194. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.704709

doi : https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.704709 DOI Link

Identifiers

global : 73e74290-aa7e-4820-9d51-f0e266999e9b