Grillo Monteiro, Ana, and Longo, Guilherme Ortigara (2024) Physical contact stress can trigger larval release in the brooding coral Siderastrea stellata. Marine Biodiversity, 54. 48.

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Abstract

Abiotic and biotic stressors are known to trigger reproductive activities in several aquatic organisms. In reef environments, physical contact as a response to competition for space on the benthos is a common stressor among sessile organisms, often leading to severe tissue damage and even mortality due to biological and chemical mechanisms. However, the effect of physical stress on coral reproduction has received less attention. In this study, we observed colonies of the scleractinian coral Siderastrea stellata releasing larvae in response to physical contact with the zoantharian Palythoa caribaeorum. Organisms were collected from reefs in Brazil and taken to the laboratory, where competition through physical contact was simulated in tanks by placing the two species in direct contact for 72 h. During this period, seven out of eight corals that were in physical contact with the zoantharian released larvae, showing tissue discoloration and a marked decrease in photosynthetic efficiency. Only one of the other eight colonies held as a control with no physical contact released larvae, indicating that physical contact may have been the trigger for larval release. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of physical contact-induced larval release in a scleractinian species, providing grounds for further investigating the potential mechanisms involved in this phenomenon.

Item ID:	82793
Item Type:	Article (Short Note)
ISSN:	1867-1624
Keywords:	Coral reproduction, coral spawning, Ecological interactions, Spatial competition, Palythoa caribaeorum
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Date Deposited:	20 May 2024 23:56
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310302 Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) @ 30% 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 10% 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310303 Ecological physiology @ 60%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180501 Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems @ 30% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180203 Coastal or estuarine biodiversity @ 20%
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