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Natural thermal stress-hardening of corals through cold temperature pulses in the Thai Andaman Sea

View ORCID ProfileMarlene Wall, View ORCID ProfileTalisa Doering, View ORCID ProfileNina Pohl, View ORCID ProfileLalita Putchim, Tipwimon Ratanawongwan, View ORCID ProfileAnna Roik
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.12.544549
Marlene Wall
1GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
2Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
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Talisa Doering
1GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
3School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Nina Pohl
1GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
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Lalita Putchim
4Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center, Upper Eastern Gulf of Thailand, Songklong, Bangpakong, Chachoengsao 24130
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Tipwimon Ratanawongwan
5Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center Lower Andaman Sea, Sikao District, Trang 92150, Thailand
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Anna Roik
2Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
6Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Oldenburg, Germany
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  • For correspondence: anna.roik@hifmb.de
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Abstract

Thermal variability can render corals stress resistant through a phenomenon coined as “stress-hardening induced by environmental priming”. Fluctuations that involve high temperature peaks have been commonly investigated, however, the effects of a stress-hardening stimulus generated by cold-water pulses has rarely been studied. Offshore island reefs in the Andaman Sea offer an ideal natural setting to study these effects, as cooling water of internal waves induce strong variability with peak intensity in January to June and absence in August to November. While western island shores are exposed to this stimulus, eastern shores remain sheltered. This study examined (1) whether corals from exposed reefs were more heat stress resistant compared to stimulus-sheltered conspecifics and (2) whether this trait can last in the absence of the stimulus. We quantified the thermal stress resistance in two ecologically important coral species, Pocillopora sp. and Porites sp., from the two island shores, during the two seasons. Coral bleaching intensity and photosynthetic efficiency of algal symbionts were measured as response variables after a short-term heat stress assay (24-48 h, 34 °C) to assess thermal stress resistance. Stress responses of all stimulus-exposed corals were either undetectable (during the season of stimulus presence) or very weak (during stimulus absence), while corals from the stimulus-sheltered shore responded strongly to heat stress irrespective of the season. Hence, thermal resistance was overall greater in corals originating from the stimulus-exposed shore, but it was slightly diminished during the season of stimulus absence, emphasizing the relevance of stimulus recurrence in maintaining the resistance trait. We exemplify that the stimulus of fluctuating low temperature pulses successfully induced stress-hardening in corals. This suggests that priming stimuli do not necessarily need to transgress certain upper thermal thresholds, but can also touch on lower thresholds to be effective. Even more, we argue that cooling pulses might represent a safer stress-hardening regime, since warming-stress accumulation can be avoided. More research is required to obtain a better understanding of environmental priming, but current findings should encourage the development of artificial stress-hardening approaches to enhance coral resistance in reef restoration efforts.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
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Posted June 12, 2023.
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Natural thermal stress-hardening of corals through cold temperature pulses in the Thai Andaman Sea
Marlene Wall, Talisa Doering, Nina Pohl, Lalita Putchim, Tipwimon Ratanawongwan, Anna Roik
bioRxiv 2023.06.12.544549; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.12.544549
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Natural thermal stress-hardening of corals through cold temperature pulses in the Thai Andaman Sea
Marlene Wall, Talisa Doering, Nina Pohl, Lalita Putchim, Tipwimon Ratanawongwan, Anna Roik
bioRxiv 2023.06.12.544549; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.12.544549

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