Limits to the thermal tolerance of corals adapted to a highly fluctuating, naturally extreme temperature environment.

ABSTRACT: Naturally extreme temperature environments can provide important insights into the processes underlying coral thermal tolerance. We determined the bleaching resistance of Acropora aspera and Dipsastraea sp. from both intertidal and subtidal environments of the naturally extreme Kimberley region in northwest Australia. Here tides of up to 10 m can cause aerial exposure of corals and temperatures as high as 37 °C that fluctuate daily by up to 7 °C. Control corals were maintained at ambient nearshore temperatures which varied diurnally by 4-5 °C, while treatment corals were exposed to similar diurnal variations and heat stress corresponding to ~20 degree heating days. All corals hosted Symbiodinium clade C independent of treatment or origin. Detailed physiological measurements showed that the

SUBMITTER: Schoepf V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4667274 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature