Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef
Abstract Organismal communities associated with coral reefs, particularly invertebrates and microbes, play crucial roles in ecosystem maintenance and coral health. Here, we characterized the organismal composition of a healthy, non-urbanized reef (Site A) and a degraded, urbanized reef (Site B) in t...
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54149-6 |
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| author | Natalie Levy Joseane A. Marques Noa Simon-Blecher David G. Bourne Tirza Doniger Jennifer I. C. Benichou Jin Yan Lim Ezri Tarazi Oren Levy |
| author_facet | Natalie Levy Joseane A. Marques Noa Simon-Blecher David G. Bourne Tirza Doniger Jennifer I. C. Benichou Jin Yan Lim Ezri Tarazi Oren Levy |
| author_sort | Natalie Levy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Organismal communities associated with coral reefs, particularly invertebrates and microbes, play crucial roles in ecosystem maintenance and coral health. Here, we characterized the organismal composition of a healthy, non-urbanized reef (Site A) and a degraded, urbanized reef (Site B) in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, Red Sea to assess its impact on coral health and physiology. Biomimetically designed terracotta tiles were conditioned for 6 months at both sites, then reciprocally transplanted, and scleractinian coral species, Acropora eurystoma and Stylophora pistillata, were attached for an additional 6 months. After 12 months, tiles from Site A transplanted to Site B exhibited greater invertebrate richness and diversity than Site B’s original tiles (via Cytochrome c. Oxidase subunit I metabarcoding). Key bacteria from the healthy reef were more prevalent on Site A tiles and on the tiles transplanted to Site B (via 16S rRNA gene sequencing). Corals originally from Site B attached to transplanted healthy tiles (Site A) showed higher photochemical capacity, increased endosymbionts, and reduced physiological stress, measured by total antioxidant capacity and an integrated biomarker response. Our findings demonstrate the successful transfer of organismal communities between reefs, highlighting the potential benefits of healthy reef-associated invertebrates and microbes on coral physiology and their implications for reef restoration strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8905fabf58894ee5831da17839f92eff |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-8905fabf58894ee5831da17839f92eff2024-11-24T12:34:33ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-0115111410.1038/s41467-024-54149-6Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reefNatalie Levy0Joseane A. Marques1Noa Simon-Blecher2David G. Bourne3Tirza Doniger4Jennifer I. C. Benichou5Jin Yan Lim6Ezri Tarazi7Oren Levy8Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityMina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityMina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook UniversityMina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityMina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook UniversityDesign-Tech Lab, Industrial Design Department at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning Technion, Israel Institute of TechnologyMina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityAbstract Organismal communities associated with coral reefs, particularly invertebrates and microbes, play crucial roles in ecosystem maintenance and coral health. Here, we characterized the organismal composition of a healthy, non-urbanized reef (Site A) and a degraded, urbanized reef (Site B) in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, Red Sea to assess its impact on coral health and physiology. Biomimetically designed terracotta tiles were conditioned for 6 months at both sites, then reciprocally transplanted, and scleractinian coral species, Acropora eurystoma and Stylophora pistillata, were attached for an additional 6 months. After 12 months, tiles from Site A transplanted to Site B exhibited greater invertebrate richness and diversity than Site B’s original tiles (via Cytochrome c. Oxidase subunit I metabarcoding). Key bacteria from the healthy reef were more prevalent on Site A tiles and on the tiles transplanted to Site B (via 16S rRNA gene sequencing). Corals originally from Site B attached to transplanted healthy tiles (Site A) showed higher photochemical capacity, increased endosymbionts, and reduced physiological stress, measured by total antioxidant capacity and an integrated biomarker response. Our findings demonstrate the successful transfer of organismal communities between reefs, highlighting the potential benefits of healthy reef-associated invertebrates and microbes on coral physiology and their implications for reef restoration strategies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54149-6 |
| spellingShingle | Natalie Levy Joseane A. Marques Noa Simon-Blecher David G. Bourne Tirza Doniger Jennifer I. C. Benichou Jin Yan Lim Ezri Tarazi Oren Levy Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef Nature Communications |
| title | Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| title_full | Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| title_fullStr | Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| title_short | Ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| title_sort | ecosystem transplant from a healthy reef boosts coral health at a degraded reef |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54149-6 |
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