Bar Ilan University
Published March 2, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Photophysiology of a mesophotic coral 3 years after transplantation to a shallow environment

Authors/Creators

  • 1. School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • 2. Tel Aviv University
  • 3. The Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
  • 4. The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
  • 5. Applied Physics Department and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
  • 6. Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
  • 7. Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
  • 8. Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
  • 9. Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
  • 10. School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • 11. The University of Queensland and Bar Ilan University

Description

With shallow coral reefs suffering from an ongoing rapid decline in many regions of the world, the interest in studies on mesophotic coral ecosystems (30–150 m) is growing rapidly. While most photoacclimation responses in corals were documented within the upper 30 m of reefs, in the present study we transplanted fragments of a strictly mesophotic species from the Red Sea, Euphyllia paradivisa, from 50 m to 5 m for a period of 3 years. Following the retrieval of the corals, their physiological and photosynthetic properties of the corals were tested. The transplanted corals presented evidence of photosynthetic acclimation to the shallow habitat, lower sensitivity to photoinhibition, and a high survival percentage, while also demonstrating a reduced ability to utilize low light compared to their mesophotic counterparts. This long-term successful transplantation from a mesophotic depth to a shallow habitat has provided us with insights regarding the ability of mesophotic corals and their symbionts to survive and withstand shallow environments, dominated by a completely different light regime. The extensive characterization of the photobiology of E. paradivisa, and its photoacclimation response to a high-light environment also demonstrates the plasticity of corals and point out to mechanisms different than those reported previously in shallower corals.

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
Mesophotic - Past and present mesophotic coral ecosystems as a predictor for survival of coral reefs in an era of climate change 796025