Publications

gene content and organization in a segment of the mitochondrial genome of the scleractinian coral acropora tenuis: major differences in gene order within the anthozoan subclass zoantharia.		1999	10605123
the mitochondrial genome of acropora tenuis (cnidaria; scleractinia) contains a large group i intron and a candidate control region.	the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the coral acropora tenuis has been determined. the 18,338 bp a. tenuis mitochondrial genome contains the standard metazoan complement of 13 protein-coding and two rrna genes, but only the same two trna genes (trnm and trnw) as are present in the mtdna of the sea anemone, metridium senile. the a. tenuis nad5 gene is interrupted by a large group i intron which contains ten protein-coding genes and rns; m. senile has an intron at the s ...	2002	12165838
sympatric populations of the highly cross-fertile coral species acropora hyacinthus and acropora cytherea are genetically distinct.	high cross-fertilization rates in vitro and non-monophyletic patterns in molecular phylogenies challenge the taxonomic status of species in the coral genus acropora. we present data from eight polymorphic allozyme loci that indicate small, but significant, differentiation between sympatric populations of acropora cytherea and acropora hyacinthus (f(st) = 0.025-0.068, p < 0.05), a pair of acroporid corals with very high interspecific fertilization rates in vitro. although no fixed allelic differe ...	2002	12065046
separation of highly fluorescent proteins by sds-page in acroporidae corals.	this study characterized the spectral properties of acropora tenuis, a. nasuta, a. secale, and a. aspera, all of which showed strong colorful fluorescence under ultraviolet light-a (black light). the emission maxima of fluorescence from the intact corals were 517, 482, 484, and 514 nm in a. tenuis, a. nasuta, a. secale, and a. aspera, respectively. using a soluble fraction of cell-free extract of the corals, we applied a method of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds-pa ...	2002	11923089
reproductive energy investment in corals: scaling with module size.	in colonial modular organisms, differences in module size and colony growth patterns among species have the potential to impose varying constraints on reproductive investment. here, we compare reproductive output among seven morphologically different species of spawning reef corals, and analyse the relationship between reproductive output and module (polyp) size. reproductive output ranged between 132 and 384 j cm(-2), with lipid constituting the key indicator of energy investment. lipid decreas ...	2003	12802676
geographic and habitat partitioning of genetically distinct zooxanthellae (symbiodinium) in acropora corals on the great barrier reef.	intra- and intercolony diversity and distribution of zooxanthellae in acroporid corals is largely uncharted. in this study, two molecular methods were applied to determine the distribution of zooxanthellae in the branching corals acropora tenuis and a. valida at several reef locations in the central section of the great barrier reef. sun-exposed and shaded parts of all colonies were examined. single-stranded conformational polymorphism analysis showed that individual colonies of a. tenuis at two ...	2003	14629362
identification of symbiotically expressed coral mrnas using a model infection system.	hermatypic (or reef-building) corals live in obligatory mutualistic symbiosis with the symbiotic dinoflagellates symbiodinium spp. (generally known as zooxanthellae). in an attempt to establish a model symbiosis system consisting of a coral host and a monoclonal population of zooxanthellae, infectivity of five cultured symbiodinium cell lines was tested on naturally aposymbiotic juveniles of acropora tenuis. a clade a3 strain (pl-ts-1) infected the juveniles at high density and promoted growth o ...	2005	16153603
species-specific interactions between algal endosymbionts and coral hosts define their bleaching response to heat and light stress.	the impacts of warming seas on the frequency and severity of bleaching events are well documented, but the potential for different symbiodinium types to enhance the physiological tolerance of reef corals is not well understood. here we compare the functionality and physiological properties of juvenile corals when experimentally infected with one of two homologous symbiodinium types and exposed to combined heat and light stress. a suite of physiological indicators including chlorophyll a fluoresc ...	2008	18577506
highly infectious symbiont dominates initial uptake in coral juveniles.	the majority of reef-building corals acquire their obligate algal symbionts (symbiodinium) from the environment. however, factors shaping the initial establishment of coral-algal symbioses, including parental effects, local environmental conditions and local availability of symbionts, are not well understood. this study monitored the uptake and maintenance of symbiodinium in juveniles of two common corals, acropora tenuis and acropora millepora, that were reciprocally explanted between sites whe ...	2009	19627495
ecologically relevant dispersal of corals on isolated reefs: implications for managing resilience.	coral reefs are in decline worldwide, and marine reserve networks have been advocated as a powerful management tool for maximizing the resilience of coral communities to an increasing variety, number, and severity of disturbances. however, the effective design of reserves must account for the spatial scales of larval dispersal that affect the demography of communities over ecological time frames. ecologically relevant distances of dispersal were inferred from dna microsatellite data in a broadca ...	2009	19323171
diversities of coral-associated bacteria differ with location, but not species, for three acroporid corals on the great barrier reef.	patterns in the diversity of bacterial communities associated with three species of acropora (acropora millepora, acropora tenuis and acropora valida) were compared at two locations (magnetic island and orpheus island) on the great barrier reef to better understand the nature and specificity of coral-microbial symbioses. three culture-independent techniques demonstrated consistent bacterial communities among replicate samples of each coral species, confirming that corals associate with specific ...	2009	19302548
onset of algal endosymbiont specificity varies among closely related species of acropora corals during early ontogeny.	juveniles of a number of corals with horizontal transmission of dinoflagellate endosymbionts naturally acquire and maintain symbiodinium types that differ from those found in adult populations. however, the duration of this early period of symbiont flexibility and successional changes leading to dominance by the characteristic adult (homologous) type are unknown. to document natural succession of symbiodinium types within juvenile corals, we monitored symbiodinium communities in juveniles of acr ...	2009	19627494
genetic diversity and divergence among coastal and offshore reefs in a hard coral depend on geographic discontinuity and oceanic currents.	understanding the evolutionary processes that have shaped existing patterns of genetic diversity of reef-building corals over broad scales is required to inform long-term conservation planning. genetic structure and diversity of the mass-spawning hard coral, acropora tenuis, were assessed with seven dna microsatellite loci from a series of isolated and discontinuous coastal and offshore reef systems in northwest australia. significant subdivision was detected among all sites (f st = 0.062, r st ...	2009	25567863
responses of coral-associated bacterial communities to heat stress differ with symbiodinium type on the same coral host.	this study compared the effect of heat stress on coral-associated bacterial communities among juveniles of the coral, acropora tenuis, hosting different symbiodinium types. in comparison to a control temperature treatment (28 degrees c), we documented dramatic changes in bacterial associates on juvenile corals harbouring its 1 type d symbiodinium when placed in a high (32 degrees c) temperature treatment. in particular, there was a marked increase in the number of retrieved vibrio affiliated seq ...	2010	20529072
effects of alumina refinery wastewater and signature metal constituents at the upper thermal tolerance of: 2. the early life stages of the coral acropora tenuis.	the success of early life history transitions of the coral acropora tenuis were used as endpoints to evaluate thermal stress and the effects of wastewater discharged to a tropical marine environment. the studies assessed the effects of: (i) temperature; (ii) three signature metals of the wastewater, aluminium (al), vanadium (v) and gallium (ga); and (iii) the wastewater (at 27°c and 32°c) on fertilisation and larval metamorphosis. the median inhibition temperatures for fertilisation and metamorp ...	2011	21349553
coral-associated bacterial communities on ningaloo reef, western australia.	coral-associated microbial communities from three coral species (pocillopora damicornis, acropora tenuis and favites abdita) were examined every 3 months (january, march, june, october) over a period of 1 year on ningaloo reef, western australia. tissue from corals was collected throughout the year and additional sampling of coral mucus and seawater samples was performed in january. tissue samples were also obtained in october from p. damicornis coral colonies on rottnest island off perth, 1200 ...	2011	21044100
profiling differential gene expression of symbiotic and aposymbiotic corals using a high coverage gene expression profiling (hicep) analysis.	coral generally harbors zooxanthellae (genus symbiodinium) in the body for mutualistic symbiosis, which favors the host through effects on growth, stress response, and nutrient utilization. however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which the partners establish and regulate the endosymbiosis. in this study, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis in the coral acropora tenuis using a high coverage gene expression profiling (hicep) method, to assess the genes that are i ...	2011	20333427
impact of light and temperature on the uptake of algal symbionts by coral juveniles.	the effects of temperature and light on the breakdown of the coral-symbiodinium symbiosis are well documented but current understanding of their roles during initial uptake and establishment of symbiosis is limited. in this study, we investigate how temperature and light affect the uptake of the algal symbionts, its1 types c1 and d, by juveniles of the broadcast-spawning corals acropora tenuis and a. millepora. elevated temperatures had a strong negative effect on symbiodinium uptake in both cor ...	2012	23185603
immunity through early development of coral larvae.	as a determinant of survival, immunity is likely to be significant in enabling coral larvae to disperse and successfully recruit, however, whether reef-building coral larvae have immune defenses is unknown. we investigated the potential presence and variation in immunity in the lecithotrophic larvae of acropora tenuis through larval development. enzymes indicative of tyrosinase and laccase-type melanin-synthesis were quantified, and the concentration of three coral fluorescent proteins was measu ...	2012	22885633
coral-bacterial communities before and after a coral mass spawning event on ningaloo reef.	bacteria associated with three coral species, acropora tenuis, pocillopora damicornis and tubastrea faulkneri, were assessed before and after coral mass spawning on ningaloo reef in western australia. two colonies of each species were sampled before and after the mass spawning event and two additional samples were collected for p. damicornis after planulation. a variable 470 bp region of the 16 s rrna gene was selected for pyrosequencing to provide an understanding of potential variations in cor ...	2012	22629343
algal symbiont type affects gene expression in juveniles of the coral acropora tenuis exposed to thermal stress.	reef-building corals harbor symbiotic dinoflagellates, symbiodinium spp., which are currently divided into several clades. the responses of corals associated with different symbiodinium clades to thermal stress are not well understood, especially at a gene expression level. juveniles of the coral acropora tenuis inoculated with different algal types (clade a or d) were exposed to thermal stress and the expression levels of four putative stress-responsive genes, including genes coding green and r ...	2012	22001189
first frozen repository for the great barrier reef coral created.	to build new tools for the continued protection and propagation of coral from the great barrier reef (gbr), an international group of coral and cryopreservation scientists known as the reef recovery initiative joined forces during the november 2011 mass-spawning event. the outcome was the creation of the first frozen bank for australian coral from two important gbr reef-building species, acropora tenuis and acropora millepora. approximately 190 frozen samples each with billions of cells were pla ...	2012	22659104
nitrate competition in a coral symbiosis varies with temperature among symbiodinium clades.	many reef-building corals form symbioses with dinoflagellates from the diverse genus symbiodinium. there is increasing evidence of functional significance to symbiodinium diversity, which affects the coral holobiont's response to changing environmental conditions. for example, corals hosting symbiodinium from the clade d taxon exhibit greater resistance to heat-induced coral bleaching than conspecifics hosting the more common clade c. yet, the relatively low prevalence of clade d suggests that t ...	2013	23407311
intergenerational transfer of specific bacteria in corals and possible implications for offspring fitness.	diverse and abundant bacterial populations play important functional roles in the multi-partite association of the coral holobiont. the specificity of coral-associated assemblages remains unclear, and little is known about the inheritance of specific bacteria from the parent colony to their offspring. this study investigated if broadcast spawning and brooding corals release specific and potentially beneficial bacteria with their offspring to secure maintenance across generations. two coral speci ...	2013	22895828
projected near-future levels of temperature and pco2 reduce coral fertilization success.	increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (pco2) are projected to contribute to a 1.1-6.4°c rise in global average surface temperatures and a 0.14-0.35 reduction in the average ph of the global surface ocean by 2100. if realized, these changes are expected to have negative consequences for reef-building corals including increased frequency and severity of coral bleaching and reduced rates of calcification and reef accretion. much less is known regarding the independent and combined effects of temp ...	2013	23457572
effects of delayed settlement on post-settlement growth and survival of scleractinian coral larvae.	demographic connectivity requires both the dispersal of individuals between sub-populations, and their subsequent contribution to population dynamics. for planktonic, non-feeding marine larvae, the capacity to delay settlement enables greater dispersal distances, but the energetic cost of delayed settlement has been shown to adversely impact post-settlement fitness in several taxa. here, we assess whether delayed settlement influences mortality rates or growth rates for the first 6 weeks followi ...	2013	23525803
does dopamine block the spawning of the acroporid coral acropora tenuis?	most corals undergo spawning after a particular moon phase, but how moon-related spawning is endogenously regulated in corals remains unknown. the objective of the present study was to evaluate whether dopamine (da) affects spawning in acropora tenuis. when pieces of four a. tenuis colonies were reared under a natural photoperiod and water temperature, spawning was observed after the predicted moon phase. after exposure to water containing da at 0.1 μm, pieces of the same colonies only released ...	2013	24026104
biotic control of skeletal growth by scleractinian corals in aragonite-calcite seas.	modern scleractinian coral skeletons are commonly composed of aragonite, the orthorhombic form of caco3. under certain conditions, modern corals produce calcite as a secondary precipitate to fill pore space. however, coral construction of primary skeletons from calcite has yet to be demonstrated. we report a calcitic primary skeleton produced by the modern scleractinian coral acropora tenuis. when uncalcified juveniles were incubated from the larval stage in seawater with low mmg/ca levels, the ...	2014	24609012
generating viral metagenomes from the coral holobiont.	reef-building corals comprise multipartite symbioses where the cnidarian animal is host to an array of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms, and the viruses that infect them. these viruses are critical elements of the coral holobiont, serving not only as agents of mortality, but also as potential vectors for lateral gene flow, and as elements encoding a variety of auxiliary metabolic functions. consequently, understanding the functioning and health of the coral holobiont requires detailed knowle ...	2014	24847321
comparing the effects of symbiotic algae (symbiodinium) clades c1 and d on early growth stages of acropora tenuis.	reef-building corals switch endosymbiotic algae of the genus symbiodinium during their early growth stages and during bleaching events. clade c symbiodinium algae are dominant in corals, although other clades - including a and d - have also been commonly detected in juvenile acroporid corals. previous studies have been reported that only molecular data of symbiodinium clade were identified within field corals. in this study, we inoculated aposymbiotic juvenile polyps with cultures of clades c1 a ...	2014	24914677
suspended sediments limit coral sperm availability.	suspended sediment from dredging activities and natural resuspension events represent a risk to the reproductive processes of coral, and therefore the ongoing maintenance of reefal populations. to investigate the underlying mechanisms that could reduce the fertilisation success in turbid water, we conducted several experiments exposing gametes of the corals acropora tenuis and a. millepora to two sediment types. sperm limitation was identified in the presence of siliciclastic sediment (230 and ~ ...	2015	26659008
acropora digitifera encodes the largest known family of fluorescent proteins that has persisted during the evolution of acropora species.	fluorescent proteins (fps) are well known and broadly used as bio-imaging markers in molecular biology research. many fp genes were cloned from anthozoan species and it was suggested that multi-copies of these genes are present in their genomes. however, the full complement of fp genes in any single coral species remained unidentified. in this study, we analyzed the fp genes in two stony coral species. fp cdna sequences from acropora digitifera and acropora tenuis revealed the presence of a mult ...	2016	27920057
simulated coal spill causes mortality and growth inhibition in tropical marine organisms.	coal is a principal fossil fuel driving economic and social development, and increases in global coal shipments have paralleled expansion of the industry. to identify the potential harm associated with chronic marine coal contamination, three taxa abundant in tropical marine ecosystems (the coral acropora tenuis, the reef fish acanthochromis polyacanthus and the seagrass halodule uninervis) were exposed to five concentrations (0-275 mg coal l(-1)) of suspended coal dust (<63 μm) over 28 d. resul ...	2016	27174014
demographic history and asynchronous spawning shape genetic differentiation among populations of the hard coral acropora tenuis in western australia.	genetic subdivision within populations can ultimately lead to the evolution of new species, and in populations of broadcast-spawners a potential facilitator of genetic subdivision is asynchronous reproduction. however, the factors that shape genetic variation in marine systems are complex and ambiguous, and ecological genetic structure may be influenced by the overriding signature of past demographic events. here, the relative roles of the timing of reproduction and historical geography on the p ...	2016	26876640
cumulative effects of nutrient enrichment and elevated temperature compromise the early life history stages of the coral acropora tenuis.	inshore coral reefs are experiencing the combined pressures of excess nutrient availability associated with coastal activities and warming seawater temperatures. both pressures are known to have detrimental effects on the early life history stages of hard corals, but studies of their combined effects on early demographic stages are lacking. we conducted a series of experiments to test the combined effects of nutrient enrichment (three levels) and elevated seawater temperature (up to five levels) ...	2016	27575699
maternal effects and symbiodinium community composition drive differential patterns in juvenile survival in the coral acropora tenuis.	coral endosymbionts in the dinoflagellate genus symbiodinium are known to impact host physiology and have led to the evolution of reef-building, but less is known about how symbiotic communities in early life-history stages and their interactions with host parental identity shape the structure of coral communities on reefs. differentiating the roles of environmental and biological factors driving variation in population demographic processes, particularly larval settlement, early juvenile surviv ...	2016	27853562
acute ecotoxicology of natural oil and gas condensate to coral reef larvae.	risks posed by oil spills to coral reefs are difficult to evaluate, partially due to the absence of studies that adequately assess toxicity to relevant coral reef species. here we experimentally tested the acute toxicity of condensate, representing a fraction of light crude oil, to coral (acropora tenuis) and sponge (rhopaloeides odorabile) larvae. the metamorphosis of coral larvae was inhibited at total petroleum aromatic hydrocarbon (tpah) concentrations of water accommodated fractions (waf) a ...	2016	26892387
biannual spawning and temporal reproductive isolation in acropora corals.	coral spawning on the oceanic reef systems of north-western australia was recently discovered during autumn and spring, but the degree to which species and particularly colonies participated in one or both of these spawnings was unknown. at the largest of the oceanic reef systems, the participation by colonies in the two discrete spawning events was investigated over three years in 13 species of acropora corals (n = 1,855 colonies). seven species spawned during both seasons; five only in autumn ...	2016	26963249
sulfur utilization of corals is enhanced by endosymbiotic algae.	sulfur-containing compounds are important components of all organisms, but few studies have explored sulfate utilization in corals. our previous study found that the expression of a sulfur transporter (slc26a11) was upregulated in the presence of symbiodinium cells in juveniles of the reef-building coral acropora tenuis in this study, we performed autoradiography using (35)s-labeled sulfate ions ((35)so4 (2-)) to examine the localization and amount of incorporated radioactive sulfate in the cor ...	2016	27493203
unexpectedly complex gradation of coral population structure in the nansei islands, japan.	to establish effective locations and sizes of potential protected areas for reef ecosystems, detailed information about source and sink relationships between populations is critical, especially in archipelagic regions. therefore, we assessed population structure and genetic diversity of acropora tenuis, one of the dominant stony coral species in the pacific, using 13 microsatellite markers to investigate 298 colonies from 15 locations across the nansei islands in southwestern japan. genetic dive ...	2016	27551399
congruent patterns of connectivity can inform management for broadcast spawning corals on the great barrier reef.	connectivity underpins the persistence and recovery of marine ecosystems. the great barrier reef (gbr) is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem and managed by an extensive network of no-take zones; however, information about connectivity was not available to optimize the network's configuration. we use multivariate analyses, bayesian clustering algorithms and assignment tests of the largest population genetic data set for any organism on the gbr to date (acropora tenuis, >2500 colonies; >50 r ...	2016	27085309
effects of coal contamination on early life history processes of a reef-building coral, acropora tenuis.	successful reproduction and larval dispersal are important for the persistence of marine invertebrate populations, and these early life history processes can be sensitive to marine pollution. coal is emerging as a contaminant of interest due to the proximity of ports and shipping lanes to coral reefs. to assess the potential hazard of this contaminant, gametes, newly developed embryos, larvae and juveniles of the coral acropora tenuis were exposed to a range of coal leachate, suspended coal, and ...	2017	28341127
cumulative effects of suspended sediments, organic nutrients and temperature stress on early life history stages of the coral acropora tenuis.	coral reproduction is vulnerable to both declining water quality and warming temperatures, with simultaneous exposures likely compounding the negative impact of each stressor. we investigated how early life processes of the coral acropora tenuis respond to increasing levels of suspended sediments in combination with temperature or organic nutrients. fertilization success and embryo development were more sensitive to suspended sediments than to high temperatures or nutrient enrichment, while larv ...	2017	28281658
mucous secretion and cilia beating defend developing coral larvae from suspended sediments.	suspended sediments produced from dredging activities, or added to the sediment budget via river runoff, are a concern for marine resource managers. understanding the impact of suspended sediments on critical life history stages of keystone species like corals is fundamental to effective management of coastlines and reefs. coral embryos (acropora tenuis and a. millepora) and larvae (a. tenuis, a. millepora and pocillopora acuta) were subjected to a range of suspended sediment concentrations of d ...	2017	27682581