2023 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Identifying "super corals" in Mauritius: what physiological factors promote high recovery after bleaching?
| Project/Area Number |
18KK0298
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| Research Institution | Shizuoka University |
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Principal Investigator |
CASARETO Beatriz 静岡大学, 創造科学技術大学院, 特任教授 (60402244)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
藤原 健智 静岡大学, 創造科学技術大学院, 教授 (80209121)
鈴木 利幸 静岡県立大学, 食品栄養科学部, 研究補助員 (80537283) [Withdrawn]
天野 豊己 静岡大学, 理学部, 准教授 (90297945)
RAMPHUL CHITRA 静岡大学, 創造科学技術大学院, 研究員 (20832661) [Withdrawn]
Aussanee Yamaguchi 静岡大学, 創造科学技術大学院, 研究員 (00830374)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-10-09 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Mauritius / Super Coral / coral bleaching / oxidative stress / thermal tolerant / genome analysis / Symbiodiniaceae / physiological factor |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This study aims to describe the physiological mechanisms that promote a successful response of thermally tolerant corals, which we defined as “super corals". We surveyed two target reefs: Albion (A) (shallow, human impacted) and Belle-Mare (BM) (deep, less affected). We sampled 17 and 19 coral colonies in A and BM respectively. Results showed that corals in BM were highly exposed to stressful condition showing high allomer/Chl-a ratio indicating oxidative stress of symbionts, and high glycerol/glucose ratio indicating a stressful state of the whole coral holobiont. Nevertheless, some corals kept healthy zooxanthellae with high Chl-a per cell and high Fv/Fm. High % of the bacterium Endozoicomonas (Gamma-proteobacteria) and Symbiodiniaceae of Clade D (Genus Durusdinium) (thermal resistant) in Pocillopora spp. confirmed their healthy state and “super coral” features. In terms of coral species, Pocillopora eydouxi, Pavona spp. and Montipora spp. were classified as "super corals". During 2023 we performed surveys in April and October and added a new site Ille D’ambre-Grand Goube (IA-GG) in the North-East of Mauritius Island. We collected 5 morphotypes of Stillophora madagascarensis and found that 3 of them showed thermal resistant features under experimental stress. We published 4 scientific papers during 2023 FY and a total of 10 papers along this research project. We participated in an international symposium (5th APCRS) with posters and oral presentations and several other international symposia during the whole project.
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