Abstract Summary
Increasing sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification are threatening the long-term survival of corals and the persistence of coral reef ecosystems. The coral microbiome has been identified as a potential factor in the resilience of corals to these changing environmental conditions. Improving our understanding of the relationships between the coral host and their microbial associates under changing ocean conditions could produce innovative approaches to coral reef restoration. Coral reefs surrounding Oahu, Hawai’i, USA exist among a natural gradient of environmental conditions, with some sites experiencing summertime temperature and pCO2 levels not expected to occur in most tropical waters until mid-century. We hypothesize that local variability in seawater temperatures and pCO2 drive coral-associated bacterial community composition, and that these differences are species-specific. To test this, we characterized the bacterial communities of five coral species from six sites around Oahu. Preliminary results from two species suggest that the bacterial community composition differs between Porites compressa and Montipora capitata corals. Additional analyses are underway to determine if differences in the temperature and pCO2 properties among sites further influences the bacterial community composition. The coral microbiome will also be interpreted in the context of physiological parameters of these corals presented in a companion abstract. Overall, characterizing the coral microbiome across a range of environmental conditions can help restoration and protection efforts to target corals better adapted for predicted future ocean conditions.
