The role of microbial symbioses in reef coral conservation under climate change - Livestream

All multicellular life hosts diverse microbial communities that are integral to biological function; these microorganisms drive metabolism, stress resistance, and acclimatization at organismal and ecosystem scales. For modern reef-building corals, their success hinges upon interactions with associated photosynthetic endosymbiotic algae. However, increasing sea surface temperatures cause a breakdown in the coral-algal symbiosis, a process known as coral bleaching, which is one of the greatest threats of anthropogenic climate change to the future persistence of coral reefs. I will discuss how different algal symbiont species drive resistance to bleaching in corals, and how dynamic and flexible symbioses affect resilience at different scales (reef, colony, polyps) and life stages. Also, how the capacity for coral larvae to form persistent symbioses with different algal symbiont species may inform active, scalable intervention strategies to boost coral reef survival, including the effect of elevated temperatures.

Speaker: Shayle Matsuda, John G Shedd Aquarium

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