Marine heatwaves modulate the genotypic and physiological responses of reef‐building corals to subsequent heat stress

• Published in: Ecology and evolution 2023-12, Vol.13 (12), p.e10798-n/a
• Main Authors: Brown, Kristen T., Genin, Amatzia, Mello‐Athayde, Matheus A., Bergstrom, Ellie, Campili, Adriana, Chai, Aaron, Dove, Sophie G., Ho, Maureen, Rowell, Devin, Sampayo, Eugenia M., Radice, Veronica Z.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autotrophy; Calcification; Carbon; Carbon content; Cladocopium; climate change; Conspecifics; Coral bleaching; Coral reef ecosystems; Coral reefs; Corals; corals reefs; ecological memory; Ecosystem recovery; Genetic diversity; Global Change Ecology; Heat; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Heat waves; Heterotrophy; Invertebrates; legacy effects; Lizards; Marine ecosystems; Ocean temperature; Ocean warming; Physiological responses; Physiology; Pocillopora; Sensors; Species composition; Survival; Temperature; Temperature effects; thermal history; Thermal stress; trophic plasticity
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10798

Back‐to‐back marine heatwaves in 2016 and 2017 resulted in severe coral bleaching and mortality across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Encouragingly, some corals that survived these events exhibit increased bleaching resistance and may represent thermally tolerant populations that can better cope with ocean warming. Using the GBR as a natural laboratory, we investigated whether a history of minimal (Heron Island) or severe (Lizard Island) coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017 equates to stress tolerance in a successive heatwave (2020). We examined the genetic diversity, physiological performance, and trophic plasticity of juvenile (25 cm) corals of two common genera (Pocillopora and Stylophora). Despite enduring greater cumulative heat stress (6.3°C week−1 vs. 5.6°C week−1), corals that experienced the third marine heatwave in 5 years (Lizard) exhibited twice as high survival and visual bleaching thresholds compared to corals that had not experienced significant bleaching in >10 years (Heron). Surprisingly, only one shared host–Symbiodiniaceae association was uncovered between locations (Stylophora pistillata–Cladocopium “C8 group”) and there was no genetic overlap in Pocillopora–Cladocopium partnerships, suggesting turnover in species composition from recent marine heatwaves. Corals within the species complex Pocillopora that survived the 2016 and 2017 marine heatwaves at Lizard Island were the most resilient, exhibiting three times greater calcification rates than conspecifics at Heron Island. Further, surviving corals (Lizard) had distinct isotopic niches, lower host carbon, and greater host protein, while conspecifics that had not experienced recent bleaching (Heron) had two times greater symbiont carbon content, suggesting divergent trophic strategies that influenced survival (i.e., greater reliance on heterotrophy vs. symbiont autotrophy, respectively). Ultimately, while corals may experience less bleaching and survive repeated thermal stress events, species‐specific trade‐offs do occur, leaving open many questions related to the long‐term health and recovery of coral reef ecosystems in the face of intensifying marine heatwaves. Coral reefs are in serious danger, with accelerating ocean warming currently considered the greatest threat to reef survival. This study identifies that ecological memory of severe coral bleaching promoted survival and bleaching resistance in a successive heatwave three years later through physiological legacies