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Corals and Seaweed: The Fight for Dominance

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By Konnor Payne, SRC Intern

Coral reefs exist because the environment around them gives them the means to survive. These conditions are also the perfect environment for seaweeds, which compete with the corals for space. Worldwide, there have been recorded occurrences of transitions from coral to seaweed dominance. Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara theorized that this was due to the overfishing of herbivores that would otherwise keep the seaweeds at bay, or nutrient enrichment, leading to an explosion of seaweed. To test this hypothesis, they traveled to the barrier reef of Moorea, French Polynesia. This reef had experienced an outbreak of coral-eating sea stars in the past few decades that reduced the coral cover to less than 5%. For unknown reasons, the fore reef (outer slope) has recovered but not the corals in the lagoon (back reef), which have been taken over by a seaweed called Turbinaria ornata. Investigating the difference in the corals’ resilience along the fore reef and lagoon could give insight into herbivory tipping points to maintain a coral-dominant environment. There was also a chance of “hysteresis,” or the idea that a slight change in one parameter produces an environment that requires a more significant change in the same parameter to return the environment to its original state. 

Figure 1. Adult Turbinaria ornata in Moorea, French Polynesia that compete with corals for space and resources (Schmitt, 2019).

The resilience test was conducted in the lagoon by mimicking storms’ varying intensities for 26 months on patch reefs and observing their recovery over 37 months. The researchers replicated a storm disturbance by removing all or parts of seaweed on the sample site. The researchers compared the abundance of coral at the beginning of the experiment to the end. The corals were highly resilient to a moderate disturbance, but not severe disturbance, from which they failed to recover and became dominated by turf algae. If the amount of herbivory is insufficient, the area will convert fully to seaweed dominance due to fishing pressure. 

Figure 2. The exclusion cage is placed on a patch reef to limit herbivorous fish’s body size that graze on it (Schmitt, 2019).

To test for hysteresis, a series of cages with various-sized holes were placed across patch reefs to limit the herbivorous fish body size, limiting their feeding capacity (Fig. 2). The researchers left these sites for as long as needed until the system naturally reached a stable state. The researchers found hysteresis at both sites by comparing the stable states of coral versus seaweed across the fore reef and lagoon. However, the standard conditions on the fore reef had herbivory action high enough to prevent seaweed dominance. In contrast, the lagoon is on the tipping point. The lagoon is at risk for completely transitioning to a seaweed-dominant environment, whereas the fore reef will likely remain coral-dominated. The researchers concluded that reversing an undesired shift on coral reefs would be difficult due to the hysteresis effect. The results suggest that proactive management strategies to prevent shifts in the first place will be more effective than management strategies targeted at restoration. 

 

Works Cited

Schmitt, R. J., Holbrook, S. J., Davis, S. L., Brooks, A. J., & Adam, T. C. (2019). Experimental support for alternative attractors on coral reefs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4372-4381.

Genomic vulnerability of a dominant seaweed species points to future-proofing pathways for Australia’s underwater forests

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By Rebecca VanArnam, SRC Intern

Endemic to Australia, Phyllospora comosa “is a forest-forming seaweed inhabiting the south-eastern Australian coastline that supports vital ecosystem functions” (Wood, 2021) (Figure 1). Like other species, climate change is causing biological changes within seaweed and seaweed-dependent organisms (Wernberf, 2011). As climate change impacts this seaweed species in Australia, scientists look to find adaptation patterns that the organism may possess. An organism’s genome can be assessed and used to understand how organisms adapt to changing environments.  

Figure 1: A photograph providing an image of Phyllospora comosa at a restoration site. (a) Represents an area that was restored (b) represents donor Phyllospora comosa to the area. [Image source: Coleman, 2017]

The increasing destruction caused by climate change influences scientist’s to perform research and look to find possible solutions while using marine genomics to do so. “Seascape genomics” became a popular tool to assess the seaweed species, Phyllospora comosa, within this study that took place in Australia. Seascape genomics evaluates a species’ spatial movement and dependence on environmental factors, such as climate change, and what role that dependence plays in the structure of an organism’s genomic patterns (Liggins, 2019).  In this study, genetic turnover was measured against sea surface temperature allowing for the further understanding of which genes within Phyllospora comosa are more vulnerable to changing temperatures (Wood, 2021). 

The analysis found that the Phyllospora comosa have relatively high gene flow, which means that their genetic material passes from one population to another, connecting their generations. The results also showed that genetic diversity was lower close to the edges of the species’ range. When linking these results to future climate change and fluctuating temperatures, it became evident that ocean warming is a definite threat to the populations where local adaptation is most likely occurring (Figure 2). This causes the central range, where diversity is highest, to be recognized as the most vulnerable area for the Phyllospora comosa (Wood, 2021).

Figure 2: A close-up photograph of the complexity of Phyllospora comosa [Image source: Wikipedia/ Phyllospora comosa]

Overall, the genetic methods used to analyze this data need to be used further to model patterns that can be developed and used to describe “genetically desirable populations” to protect this critical endemic seaweed. Not only are these methods needed for Phyllospora comosa, rather they have become and should continue to become understood and used as essential resources to help reduce climate change effects (Wood, 2021). 

 

Works Cited: 

Coleman, M. A., & Wernberg, T. (2017). Forgotten underwater forests: the key role of fucoids on Australian temperate reefs. Ecology and Evolution, 7(20), 8406-8418.

Liggins L., Treml E.A., Riginos C. (2019) Seascape Genomics: Contextualizing Adaptive and Neutral Genomic Variation in the Ocean Environment. In: Oleksiak M., Rajora O. (eds) Population Genomics: Marine Organisms. Population Genomics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/13836_2019_68

Wernberg, Thomas, et al. “Seaweed Communities in Retreat from Ocean Warming.” Current Biology 21.21 (2011): 1828-32. Print.

Wood, Georgina, et al. “Genomic Vulnerability of a Dominant Seaweed Points to Future‐Proofing Pathways for Australia’s Underwater Forests.” Global Change Biology (2021). Print.