Browsing by Author "Howe-Kerr, Lauren I."

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    Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity
    (PeerJ, Inc, 2023) Davies, Sarah W.; Gamache, Matthew H.; Howe-Kerr, Lauren I.; Kriefall, Nicola G.; Baker, Andrew C.; Banaszak, Anastazia T.; Bay, Line Kolind; Bellantuono, Anthony J.; Bhattacharya, Debashish; Chan, Cheong Xin; Claar, Danielle C.; Coffroth, Mary Alice; Cunning, Ross; Davy, Simon K.; Campo, Javier del; Díaz-Almeyda, Erika M.; Frommlet, Jörg C.; Fuess, Lauren E.; González-Pech, Raúl A.; Goulet, Tamar L.; Hoadley, Kenneth D.; Howells, Emily J.; Hume, Benjamin C. C.; Kemp, Dustin W.; Kenkel, Carly D.; Kitchen, Sheila A.; LaJeunesse, Todd C.; Lin, Senjie; McIlroy, Shelby E.; McMinds, Ryan; Nitschke, Matthew R.; Oakley, Clinton A.; Peixoto, Raquel S.; Prada, Carlos; Putnam, Hollie M.; Quigley, Kate; Reich, Hannah G.; Reimer, James Davis; Rodriguez-Lanetty, Mauricio; Rosales, Stephanie M.; Saad, Osama S.; Sampayo, Eugenia M.; Santos, Scott R.; Shoguchi, Eiichi; Smith, Edward G.; Stat, Michael; Stephens, Timothy G.; Strader, Marie E.; Suggett, David J.; Swain, Timothy D.; Tran, Cawa; Traylor-Knowles, Nikki; Voolstra, Christian R.; Warner, Mark E.; Weis, Virginia M.; Wright, Rachel M.; Xiang, Tingting; Yamashita, Hiroshi; Ziegler, Maren; Correa, Adrienne M. S.; Parkinson, John Everett
    Within microeukaryotes, genetic variation and functional variation sometimes accumulate more quickly than morphological differences. To understand the evolutionary history and ecology of such lineages, it is key to examine diversity at multiple levels of organization. In the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which can form endosymbioses with cnidarians (e.g., corals, octocorals, sea anemones, jellyfish), other marine invertebrates (e.g., sponges, molluscs, flatworms), and protists (e.g., foraminifera), molecular data have been used extensively over the past three decades to describe phenotypes and to make evolutionary and ecological inferences. Despite advances in Symbiodiniaceae genomics, a lack of consensus among researchers with respect to interpreting genetic data has slowed progress in the field and acted as a barrier to reconciling observations. Here, we identify key challenges regarding the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae genetic diversity across three levels: species, populations, and communities. We summarize areas of agreement and highlight techniques and approaches that are broadly accepted. In areas where debate remains, we identify unresolved issues and discuss technologies and approaches that can help to fill knowledge gaps related to genetic and phenotypic diversity. We also discuss ways to stimulate progress, in particular by fostering a more inclusive and collaborative research community. We hope that this perspective will inspire and accelerate coral reef science by serving as a resource to those designing experiments, publishing research, and applying for funding related to Symbiodiniaceae and their symbiotic partnerships.
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    Consumer feces impact coral health in guild-specific ways
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2023) Grupstra, Carsten G. B.; Howe-Kerr, Lauren I.; van der Meulen, Jesse A.; Veglia, Alex J.; Coy, Samantha R.; Correa, Adrienne M. S.
    Animal waste products are an important component of nutrient cycles and result in the trophic transmission of diverse microorganisms. There is growing recognition that the feces of consumers, such as predators, may impact resource species, their prey, via physical effects and/or microbial activity. We tested the effect of feces from distinct fish trophic groups on coral health and used heat-killed fecal controls to tease apart physical versus microbial effects of contact with fecal material. Fresh grazer/detritivore fish feces caused lesions more frequently on corals, and lesions were 4.2-fold larger than those from sterilized grazer/detritivore feces; in contrast, fresh corallivore feces did not cause more frequent or larger lesions than sterilized corallivore feces. Thus, microbial activity in grazer/detritivore feces, but not corallivore feces, was harmful to corals. Characterization of bacterial diversity in feces of 10 reef fish species, ranging from obligate corallivores to grazer/detritivores, indicated that our experimental findings may be broadly generalizable to consumer guild, since feces of some obligate corallivores contained ~2-fold higher relative abundances of coral mutualist bacteria (e.g., Endozoicomonadaceae), and lower abundances of the coral pathogen, Vibrio coralliilyticus, than feces of some grazer/detritivores. These findings recontextualize the ecological roles of consumers on coral reefs: although grazer/detritivores support coral reef health in various ways (e.g., promoting coral settlement and herbivory through the removal of detritus and sediments from the algal matrix), they also disperse coral pathogens. Corallivore predation can wound corals, yet their feces contain potentially beneficial coral-associated bacteria, supporting the hypothesized role of consumers, and corallivores in particular, in coral symbiont dispersal. Such consumer-mediated microbial dispersal as demonstrated here has broad implications for environmental management.
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    Filamentous virus-like particles are present in coral dinoflagellates across genera and ocean basins
    (Oxford University Press, 2023) Howe-Kerr, Lauren I.; Knochel, Anna M.; Meyer, Matthew D.; Sims, Jordan A.; Karrick, Carly E.; Grupstra, Carsten G. B.; Veglia, Alex J.; Thurber, Andrew R.; Vega Thurber, Rebecca L.; Correa, Adrienne M. S.
    Filamentous viruses are hypothesized to play a role in stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) through infection of the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Family Symbiodiniaceae) of corals. To evaluate this hypothesis, it is critical to understand the global distribution of filamentous virus infections across the genetic diversity of Symbiodiniaceae hosts. Using transmission electron microscopy, we demonstrate that filamentous virus-like particles (VLPs) are present in over 60% of Symbiodiniaceae cells (genus Cladocopium) within Pacific corals (Acropora hyacinthus, Porites c.f. lobata); these VLPs are more prevalent in Symbiodiniaceae of in situ colonies experiencing heat stress. Symbiodiniaceae expelled from A. hyacinthus also contain filamentous VLPs, and these cells are more degraded than their in hospite counterparts. Similar to VLPs reported from SCTLD-affected Caribbean reefs, VLPs range from ~150 to 1500 nm in length and 16–37 nm in diameter and appear to constitute various stages in a replication cycle. Finally, we demonstrate that SCTLD-affected corals containing filamentous VLPs are dominated by diverse Symbiodiniaceae lineages from the genera Breviolum, Cladocopium, and Durusdinium. Although this study cannot definitively confirm or refute the role of filamentous VLPs in SCTLD, it demonstrates that filamentous VLPs are not solely observed in SCTLD-affected corals or reef regions, nor are they solely associated with corals dominated by members of a particular Symbiodiniaceae genus. We hypothesize that filamentous viruses are a widespread, common group that infects Symbiodiniaceae. Genomic characterization of these viruses and empirical tests of the impacts of filamentous virus infection on Symbiodiniaceae and coral colonies should be prioritized.
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    On a Reef Far, Far Away: Anthropogenic Impacts Following Extreme Storms Affect Sponge Health and Bacterial Communities
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2021) Shore, Amanda; Sims, Jordan A.; Grimes, Michael; Howe-Kerr, Lauren I.; Grupstra, Carsten G.B.; Doyle, Shawn M.; Stadler, Lauren B.; Sylvan, Jason B.; Shamberger, Kathryn E.F.; Davies, Sarah W.; Santiago-Vázquez, Lory Z.; Correa, Adrienne M.S.
    Terrestrial runoff can negatively impact marine ecosystems through stressors including excess nutrients, freshwater, sediments, and contaminants. Severe storms, which are increasing with global climate change, generate massive inputs of runoff over short timescales (hours to days); such runoff impacted offshore reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico (NW GoM) following severe storms in 2016 and 2017. Several weeks after coastal flooding from these events, NW GoM reef corals, sponges, and other benthic invertebrates ~185 km offshore experienced mortality (2016 only) and/or sub-lethal stress (both years). To assess the impact of storm-derived runoff on reef filter feeders, we characterized the bacterial communities of two sponges, Agelas clathrodes and Xestospongia muta, from offshore reefs during periods of sub-lethal stress and no stress over a three-year period (2016-2018). Sponge-associated and seawater-associated bacterial communities were altered during both flood years. Additionally, we found evidence of wastewater contamination (based on 16S rRNA gene libraries and quantitative PCR) in offshore sponge samples, but not in seawater samples, following these flood years. Signs of wastewater contamination were absent during the no-flood year. We show that flood events from severe storms have the capacity to reach offshore reef ecosystems and impact resident benthic organisms. Such impacts are most readily detected if baseline data on organismal physiology and associated microbiome composition are available. This highlights the need for molecular and microbial time series of benthic organisms in near- and offshore reef ecosystems, and the continued mitigation of stormwater runoff and climate change impacts.