Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD PeerJ
Résumé : International audience
The adaptative bleaching hypothesis (ABH) states that, depending on the symbiotic flexibility of coral hosts (i.e., the ability of corals to ''switch'' or ''shuffle'' their algal symbionts), coral bleaching can lead to a change in the composition of their associated Symbiodinium community and, thus, contribute to the coral's overall survival. In order to determine the flexibility of corals, molecular tools are required to provide accurate species delineations and to detect low levels of coral-associated Symbiodinium. Here, we used highly sensitive quantitative (real-time) PCR (qPCR) technology to analyse five common coral species from Moorea (French Polynesia), previously screened using only traditional molecular methods, to assess the presence of low-abundance (background) Symbiodinium spp. Similar to other studies, each coral species exhibited a strong specificity to a particular clade, irrespective of the environment. In addition, however, each of the five species harboured at least one additional Symbiodinium clade, among clades A–D, at background levels. Unexpectedly, and for the first time in French Polynesia, clade B was detected as a coral symbiont. These results increase the number of known coral-Symbiodinium associations from corals found in French Polynesia, and likely indicate an underestimation of the ability of the corals in this region to associate with and/or ''shuffle'' different Symbiodinium clades. Altogether our data suggest that corals from French Polynesia may favor a trade-off between optimizing symbioses with a specific Symbiodinium clade(s), maintaining associations with particular background clades that may play a role in the ability of corals to respond to environmental change. How to cite this article Rouzé et al. (2017), An updated assessment of Symbiodinium spp. that associate with common scleractinian corals from Moorea (French Polynesia) reveals high diversity among background symbionts and a novel finding of clade B.
ISSN: 2167-8359

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-01430294
https://hal-sde.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01430294
https://hal-sde.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01430294/document
https://hal-sde.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01430294/file/Rouze-2017-PeerJ-Updated.pdf
DOI : 10.7717/peerj.2856

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : International audience
Late Jurassic coral reefs are present in the Western High Atlas of Morocco along the eastern paleomargin of the young Atlantic Ocean. The Izwarn section shows two reef units made of scleractinian corals and microbialites, included in a progradational shallowing-upward succession. Changes in reefal composition and structure observed in a ca. 50 cm-thick interval at the base of the reef unit 1 are interpreted to represent the first well-documented ecological succession in Late Jurassic reefs. Bioclastic deposits, sparse and poorly diversified corals (five genera) preserved in life position, and finally a more diversified coral assemblage (11 genera) building a reef framework with stromatolitic crusts reflect pioneer, colonization and diversification stages, respectively. A specific depth window, where light was reduced but sufficient for a catch-up growth mode and below the erosive action of waves, probably at the lower slope of a fore-reef area, has made possible the development and the record of this ecological succession. With a more diversified coral assemblage (16 genera), the reef unit 2 reflects shallower and well-agitated waters of a fore-reef area. Overlaying this second reef unit, the upper part of the section reveals back-reef deposits made of reworked reef elements, whereas a putative reef crest area is not recorded.
ISSN: 0016-6995

hal-00795549
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795549
DOI : 10.1016/j.geobios.2012.05.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
The scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis type β is known to present a mixed reproduction mode: through sexual reproduction, new genotypes are created, while asexual reproduction insures their propagation. In order to investigate the relative proportion of each reproduction mode in P. damicornis type β populations from Reunion Island, Indian Ocean, clonal propagation along the west coast was assessed through four sampling sites with increasing geographical distance between sites. Coral colonies were sampled either exhaustively, randomly or haphazardly within each site, and genotypic diversity was assessed using 13 microsatellite loci over a total of 510 P. damicornis type β determined a posteriori from their mtDNA haplotype (a 840 bp sequenced fragment of the Open Reading Frame). Overall, 47% of all the sampled colonies presented the same multi-locus genotype (MLG), a superclone, suggesting that asexual propagation is extremely important in Reunion Island. Within each site, numerous MLGs were shared by several colonies, suggesting local clonal propagation through fragmentation. Moreover, some of these MLGs were found to be shared among several sites located 40 km apart. While asexual reproduction by fragmentation seems unlikely over long distances, our results suggest a production of parthenogenetic larvae. Despite shared MLGs, two differentiated clusters were enclosed among populations of the west coast of Reunion Island, revealing the necessity to set up appropriate managing strategies at a local scale.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01450078
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01450078
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0169692

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD De Gruyter
Résumé : International audience
Coral reefs have undergone profound ecological changes over recent decades. Areas formerly covered by scleractinian coral species are now often overgrown by macroalgae. In Martinique (West Indies), this phenomenon has lead to the colonisation of numerous coral reefs by algae, amongst which Sargassum is one of the most prominent. This study focuses on potential defence molecules produced by Sargassum polyceratium. The hexane dipping method was employed to extract surface molecules on fresh material, and their bioactivities were assessed against bacteria (marine and estuarine), and marine tropical invertebrates wan annelid (Pseudonereis sp.), a bivalve (Codakia orbicularis) and a sea urchin (Diadema antillarum)x. Extracts were active against all microorganisms tested (MICs150 or 300 mg ml-1), early stages of development in Pseudonereis sp. (MICs100 mg ml-1) and embryos of C. orbicularis and D. antillarum (MICs5 mg ml-1), suggesting the production of defence compounds by S. polyceratium.
ISSN: 0006-8055

hal-00746082
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00746082
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00746082/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00746082/file/Publication_Sargassum_bortanica_marina.pdf
DOI : 10.1515/BOT.2011.014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
This study provides a baseline describing natural small scale variability of Symbiodinium density in the sentinel coral Acropora globiceps during the summer, under non-bleaching conditions. Spatial scales investigated range from the colony scale (1-10 cm, i.e. among branches of the same colony) to the reef scale (1-10 km, i.e. among stations distributed over several locations and depths), at Moorea Island, French Polynesia. The coral-Symbiodinium symbiosis is a key process in scleractinian coral physiology, and Symbiodinium density provides an easy-to-measure and inexpensive biomarker of this symbiosis health. Spatial variability of three major environmental factors: light intensity, sedimentation and water motion was also assessed to evaluate their potential link with Symbiodinium density. Density of Symbiodinium did not significantly differ within colonies or among colonies within a station. However, a marked depth gradient was observed, showing increasing density with increasing depth and decreasing light intensity. These observations provide an interesting reference for forthcoming comparisons with disturbed conditions, such as bleaching events.
ISSN: 0025-3154

hal-00905942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00905942/file/Ladriereetal2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1017/S0025315413001252

Éditeur(s) : Amer Soc Biochemistry Molecular Biology Inc
Résumé : Scleractinian corals are the most basal eumetazoan taxon and provide the biological and physical framework for coral reefs, which are among the most diverse of all ecosystems. Over the past three decades and coincident with climate change, these phototrophic symbiotic organisms have been subject to increasingly frequent and severe diseases, which are now geographically widespread and a major threat to these ecosystems. Although coral immunity has been the subject of increasing study, the available information remains fragmentary, especially with respect to coral antimicrobial responses. In this study, we characterized damicornin from Pocillopora damicornis, the first scleractinian antimicrobial peptide (AMP) to be reported. We found that its precursor has a segmented organization comprising a signal peptide, an acidic proregion, and the C-terminal AMP. The 40-residue AMP is cationic, C-terminally amidated, and characterized by the presence of six cysteine molecules joined by three intramolecular disulfide bridges. Its cysteine array is common to another AMP and toxins from cnidarians; this suggests a common ancestor, as has been proposed for AMPs and toxins from arthropods. Damicornin was active in vitro against Gram-positive bacteria and the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Damicornin expression was studied using a combination of immunohistochemistry, reverse phase HPLC, and quantitative RT-PCR. Our data show that damicornin is constitutively transcribed in ectodermal granular cells, where it is stored, and further released in response to nonpathogenic immune challenge. Damicornin gene expression was repressed by the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. This is the first evidence of AMP gene repression in a host-Vibrio interaction.
Journal Of Biological Chemistry (0021-9258) (Amer Soc Biochemistry Molecular Biology Inc), 2011-06 , Vol. 286 , N. 25 , P. 22688-22698

Droits : 2011 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00039/14996/12433.pdf
DOI:10.1074/jbc.M110.216358
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00039/14996/

Éditeur(s) : John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Résumé : 1. The development of macroalgae to the detriment of corals is now one of the major threats to coral reefs. Herbivorous fishes are partly responsible for algal regulation on coral reefs and their overexploitation favours the shift from scleractinian coral-dominated systems towards macroalgae-dominated systems. 2. Marine protected areas (MPAs) that have been established worldwide may benefit coral reefs through the maintenance of high densities of herbivorous fishes which regulate algal growth. 3. The paper assesses whether small MPAs in the Caribbean are able to enhance herbivorous fish stock and by controlling macroalgae help to maintain reef ecosystems. A visual census using band-transects was undertaken around Guadeloupe island where marine reserves have been in place since 1979. The effects of MPAs on both benthic communities and herbivorous fishes are examined. 4. Inside MPAs, herbivorous fish biomass was almost twice as high as outside MPAs and macroalgal cover was significantly lower. Fish size class distributions revealed that large individuals occurred mainly inside MPAs and that few male individuals were found outside MPAs. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Aquatic Conservation-marine And Freshwater Ecosystems (1052-7613) (John Wiley & Sons Ltd), 2010-07 , Vol. 20 , N. 5 , P. 516-524

Droits : 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12214/9551.pdf
DOI:10.1002/aqc.1118
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12214/

Éditeur(s) : Public Library Science
Résumé : The diversity of deep-water corals in the Caribbean Sea was studied using records from oceanographic expeditions performed by the R/V Pillsbury. Sampled stations were sorted according to broad depth ranges and ecoregions and were analyzed in terms of species accumulation curves, variance in the species composition and contributions to alpha, beta and gamma diversity. According to the analysis of species accumulation curves using the Chao2 estimator, more diversity occurs on the continental slope (200–2000 m depth) than on the upper continental shelf (60–200 m depth). In addition to the effect of depth sampling, differences in species composition related to depth ranges were detected. However, the differences between ecoregions are dependent on depth ranges, there were fewer differences among ecoregions on the continental slope than on the upper continental shelf. Indicator species for distinctness of ecoregions were, in general, Alcyonaria and Antipatharia for the upper continental shelf, but also the scleractinians Madracis myriabilis and Cladocora debilis. In the continental slope, the alcyonarian Placogorgia and the scleractinians Stephanocyathus and Fungiacyathus were important for the distinction of ecoregions. Beta diversity was the most important component of gamma diversity in the Caribbean Basin. The contribution of ecoregions to alpha, beta and gamma diversity differed with depth range. On the upper continental shelf, the Southern Caribbean ecoregion contributed substantially to all components of diversity. In contrast, the northern ecoregions contributed substantially to the diversity of the Continental Slope. Strategies for the conservation of deep-water coral diversity in the Caribbean Basin must consider the variation between ecoregions and depth ranges.
Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2014-03 , Vol. 9 , N. 3 , P. -

Droits : 2014 Ivan Hernandez-Avila. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: Research visit to RSMAS was partially supported by Comisio´n de Investigacio´ n, Universidad de Oriente. No additional
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00187/29868/28326.pdf
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0092834
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00187/29868/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Although coral reefs support the largest concentrations of marine biodiversity worldwide, the extent to which the global system of marine-protected areas (MPAs) represents individual species and the breadth of evolutionary history across the Tree of Life has never been quantified. Here we show that only 5.7% of scleractinian coral species and 21.7% of labrid fish species reach the minimum protection target of 10% of their geographic ranges within MPAs. We also estimate that the current global MPA system secures only 1.7% of the Tree of Life for corals, and 17.6% for fishes. Regionally, the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific show the greatest deficit of protection for corals while for fishes this deficit is located primarily in the Western Indian Ocean and in the Central Pacific. Our results call for a global coordinated expansion of current conservation efforts to fully secure the Tree of Life on coral reefs.
ISSN: 2041-1723

hal-01282920
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01282920
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01282920/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01282920/file/ncomms10359.pdf
DOI : 10.1038/ncomms10359

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Seabirds concentrate nutrients from large marine areas on their nesting islands playing an important ecological role in nutrient transfer between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Here we investigate the role of guano on corals reefs across scales by analyzing the stable nitrogen isotopic (delta N-15) values of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis on fringing reefs around two Pacific remote islets with large seabird colonies. Marine stations closest to the seabird colonies had higher nitrate + nitrite concentrations compared to more distant stations. Coral and zooxanthellae delta N-15 values were also higher at these sites, suggesting that guano-derived nitrogen is assimilated into corals and contributes to their nitrogen requirements. The spatial extent of guano influence was however restricted to a local scale. Our results demonstrate that seabird-derived nutrients not only spread across the terrestrial ecosystem, but also affect components of the adjacent marine ecosystem. Further studies are now needed to assess if this nutrient input has a positive or negative effect for corals. Such studies on remote islets also open fresh perspectives to understand how nutrients affect coral reefs isolated from other anthropogenic stressors.
ISSN: 2045-2322

hal-01681575
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01681575
DOI : 10.1038/s41598-017-03781-y

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Diversified deep-water corals and associated communities occur in early Pleistocene (early Calabrian; ∼1.7–1.6 Ma) calcareous crusts discovered on the south-western coast of Karpathos Island (eastern Greece). Apart from abundant and conspicuous solitary and colonial corals (12 species), the accompanying fauna comprises mostly bivalves (10 species), serpulid worms (4 species), and bryozoans (40 species). The growth and deposition of the studied organisms occurred in an upper bathyal environment at water depths around 400–600 m. The calculated mean uplift rate after deposition of the crusts indicates that Karpathos was drowned during the earliest Calabrian and experienced severe uplifts by the late Calabrian. A comparison between these communities and those of the Pleistocene to Recent Mediterranean and north-east Atlantic shows that a common stock of taxa exist(ed); among them two azooxanthellate colonial scleractinians (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) are predominant.
ISSN: 0267-8179

hal-01622744
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622744
DOI : 10.1002/jqs.2966

Éditeur(s) : Public Library Science
Résumé : Global change and its associated temperature increase has directly or indirectly changed the distributions of hosts and pathogens, and has affected host immunity, pathogen virulence and growth rates. This has resulted in increased disease in natural plant and animal populations worldwide, including scleractinian corals. While the effects of temperature increase on immunity and pathogen virulence have been clearly identified, their interaction, synergy and relative weight during pathogenesis remain poorly documented. We investigated these phenomena in the interaction between the coral Pocillopora damicornis and the bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus, for which the infection process is temperature-dependent. We developed an experimental model that enabled unraveling the effects of thermal stress, and virulence vs. non-virulence of the bacterium. The physiological impacts of various treatments were quantified at the transcriptome level using a combination of RNA sequencing and targeted approaches. The results showed that thermal stress triggered a general weakening of the coral, making it more prone to infection, non-virulent bacterium induced an 'efficient' immune response, whereas virulent bacterium caused immuno-suppression in its host.
Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2014-09 , Vol. 9 , N. 9 , P. 1-15

Droits : This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00221/33265/31738.pdf
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0107672
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00221/33265/