Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves 155-163. / xi, 163 l illus. (part col.), tables

A quantitative study of the decapod crustacean community commensal with the coral Pocillopora meandrina var. nobilis Verrill was undertaken and was accomplished through an analysis of communities collected in coral heads in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. The coral head microhabitat was described and analyzed. The community was described and its relationship to the coral head habitat defined. It was found that community composition was affected by coral head size and that relative composition of the communities changed as the coral heads increased in size. Through stomach contents analysis and trophic behavior experiments the commensals were found to utilize the coral as a source of food, primarily by feeding on material caught on the coral. A correlation between the total biomass of the crustacean community and the surface area of the coral heads in which they were collected was found, suggesting that the com- munity is limited by the amount of surface area of a coralhead This may reflect the amount of food available to the symbionts. There was no good correlation between surface area of the corals and the biomass of the individual components of the community, indicating that other factors, such as the behavioral peculiarity of pairing and interspecific competition probably determine the exact composition of the community that a coral head can support. It was concluded that the crustaceans studied were true commensals with the coral, and that the commensal association involves the host providing a source of food as well as protection for the symbionts. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 62-64.

Coral reef cryptofauna (coelobites) are metazoans that occupy the hidden recesses formed by structural taxa such as corals. While cryptic communities are thought to account for the majority of reef biodiversity and play important roles in reef trophodynamics, little empirical evidence exists supporting these claims. Quantitative sampling of coelobites has been thus far limited due to highly heterogeneous reef topographies as well as difficulties associated with identification of large numbers of species. In the eastern Pacific, monogeneric stands of Pocillopora form reef structures that are homogeneous across a horizontal plane and support a relatively depauperate fauna, thereby permitting detailed multispecies analysis. Sampling of motile cryptofauna associated with live coral and dead coral frameworks typifying four levels of degradation, was conducted at Playa Larga Reef on Contadora Island in the eastern Pacific, Gulf of Panamá. Communities associated with live coral colonies were less diverse than those associated with dead corals and the species richness of cryptofauna living on dead coral substrates was higher in more degraded habitats. Living coral colonies, however, support significantly greater densities of cryptofauna and more biomass per volume substrate than their dead coral counterparts. On dead coral frameworks, numbers of individuals and biomass were significantly greater per volume in areas of intermediate degradation. A field experiment was conducted to test the effects of flow, porosity and coral cover on cryptic communities associated with artificial reef frameworks (ARFs). Coral cover (live vs. dead) was not observed to affect the structure of communities occupying underlying frameworks, however, lower porosity substrates sheltered greater abundances of individuals per volume substrate and low flow environments supported elevated biomass. Additionally, porosity and flow were both found to significantly affect relative species abundances as well as overall community diversity. Data from quantitative sampling of natural reef environments and experimental manipulation of cryptic reef habitats suggest novel and unexplored responses to mass coral mortality and reef habitat degradation. Coral death is considered to be vital to the maintenance of reef ecosystem habitat and biotic diversity. Contrary to the popular paradigm that a healthy reef ecosystem has high coral cover, the most diverse reef ecosystems are those which have experienced intermediate levels of degradation. Furthermore, while living corals support elevated cryptofauna abundances and biomass, the magnitude of communities associated with dead framework materials suggest that abundant cryptofauna populations persist in highly degraded reef environments.

Les nombreuses pressions naturelles et anthropiques qui pèsent sur les écosystèmes coralliens font craindre leur disparition pour les années futures. Parmi les mesures de conservation, la cryoconservation permet de maintenir en sécurité les échantillons sur le long terme et à coût réduit. Les premiers travaux sur la cryoconservation des Anthozoaires incitent à développer davantage la méthode de vitrification plutôt que la congélation lente. Dans ce contexte, cette thèse propose d'expérimenter la technique de vitrification sur plusieurs formes pluricellulaires dont les apex, les planulae, les polypes primaires, les polypes isolés et les balles tissulaires (TB), toutes issues du Scléractiniaire Pocillopora damicornis. Les meilleurs résultats ont été produits avec les TB obtenues après exposition à une solution de KSW puis traitées selon la méthode V Cryo-plate. L'éthylène glycol (EG) s'est avéré le cryoprotecteur (CPA) le mieux toléré jusqu'à 4.0 M pendant 20 min à température ambiante (RT). Les mélanges binaires et ternaires de CPA ont cependant permis d'obtenir de meilleures tolérances des TB qu'avec les solutions individuelles. L'utilisation de solutions successives a permis d'obtenir des survies jusqu'à 4.5 M selon le protocole : 1.5 M EG + 0.5 M Glycérol (Gly) (5 min, RT) puis 1.5 M DMSO + 1.5 M EG + 1.5 M Gly (10 min, 0°C) et enfin 1.5 M EG + 0.5 M Gly (5 min, RT). L'intégrité des cellules épithéliales de l'ectoderme apparaît essentielle au maintien des TB durant et après les traitements. Si le protocole de vitrification n'a pu être mis au point, en revanche, l'utilisation des TB à des fins de cryoconservation apparaît très intéressante pour de futures investigations. / Numerous environmental and anthropic pressures threaten reef ecosystems, rising concerns on species loss in coming years. Among conservation measures, cryopreservation ensures the safe and cost-effective long-term conservation of biological material. The first publications focusing on Anthozoa cryopreservation reported that the vitrification approach was preferable to the slow-cooling approach. In this context, this thesis aimed at investigating a vitrification technique with several pluricellular forms of the Scleractinian Pocillopora damicornis including apexes, planulae, primary polyps, isolated polyps and tissue balls (TB). The best results were obtained using TBs produced by exposing coral branches to a KSW solution. TBs were cryopreserved using the V Cryo-plate method. The highest TB tolerance was obtained after exposure to solution containing ethylene glycol (EG) concentrated to 4.0 M for 20 min at room temperature (RT). Binary and ternary cryoprotectant (CPA) solutions were better tolerated by TBs compared with individual cryoprotectant solutions. Exposure of TBs to a series of cryoprotectant solutions with progressively increased concentration allowed obtaining TB tolerance to cryoprotectant with a concentration of 4.5 M with: 1.5 M EG + 0.5 M Glycerol (Gly) (5 min, RT), 1.5 M DMSO + 1.5 M EG + 1.5 M Gly (10 min, 0°C) and then 1.5 M EG + 0.5 M Gly (5 min, RT). Epithelial cells from the ectoderm were essential to maintain TB integrity during and following CPA treatments. Successful cryopreservation was not achieved in this work; however, it demonstrated that the use of TBs constitutes a promising way for further cryopreservation research.

Statement of purpose: The scope of this dissertation was restricted to exemplary studies on the effects of spectrum, intensity and modulation (as described above) of the photic environment of the common reef coral Pocillopora damicornis and its symbiotic dinoflagellate algae. Various aspects of its biology were investigated. In some cases direct comparison was wade with othar species to emphasize similarities or differences. The central hypothesis of this dissertation can be stated as follows: Subtle changes in the spectrum, intensity and modulation of the natural photic environment can produce a profound effect on growth, reproduction, primary production and general metabolism of the reef corals. / Typescript. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaii, 1985. Bibliography: leaves 201-221.

Thesis supervisor: Ann F, Budd. Includes bibliographic references (p. 46-49).

Many organisms form mutually beneficial, symbiotic partnerships with other organisms. Corals and sea anemones undergo mutualistic symbioses with photosynthetic algae of the family Symbiodiniaceae, and these partnerships are key for the viability of coral reef ecosystems. Cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbioses are sensitive to climate change-induced ocean warming, which causes the disruption of symbiosis, commonly referred to as bleaching, and can lead to coral mortality. Cellular and molecular aspects of how this symbiosis is established and disrupted by heat stress are not well understood. The research presented herein characterizes immunity transcription factor NF-kappaB in the cnidarian model organism Exaiptasia pallida (Aiptasia). It is shown that the DNA-binding site specificity of Aiptasia NF-kappaB is similar to mammalian NF-kappaB subunit p50 and that this binding specificity is conserved across a broad expanse of metazoans. Moreover, Aiptasia and human IkappaB kinases can phosphorylate serine residues in the C-terminus of NF-kappaB, signaling the protein for proteasomal processing to allow for nuclear localization, DNA binding, and transactivation. In Aiptasia, NF-kappaB expression is downregulated by symbiosis onset in larvae, and NF-kappaB total expression, DNA-binding activity, and tissue-specific expression are increased following laboratory-induced loss of symbiosis in adult Aiptasia. NF-kappaB downregulation during the onset of symbiosis occurs only with the compatible symbiont Breviolum minutum and data suggest that host TGFbeta plays a role in NF-kappaB downregulation. Results demonstrate that aposymbiotic Aiptasia (with high NF-kappaB levels) have increased survival following bacterial infection as compared to symbiotic anemones. A bioinformatic analysis shows that potential NF-kappaB binding sites are enriched in promoter regions of immune-related genes that are upregulated in aposymbiotic Aiptasia. Increased levels of NF-kappaB are also found in a genet of the coral Pocillopora damicornis that exhibits resilience to heat-induced bleaching. Overall, the results in this thesis suggest a role for NF-kappaB-directed immunity in symbiosis onset, bleaching, and resistance to biological stressors in cnidarians. It is proposed that NF-kappaB downregulation in Aiptasia is a mechanism to lower host immunity and promote the establishment of symbiosis, but that this process compromises host immunity to pathogen infection. Nevertheless, constitutively high basal levels of NF-kappaB may be protective against bleaching in cnidarians.

Dans le contexte du réchauffement climatique, les récifs coralliens subissent des stress thermiques de plus en plus fréquents et intenses. Dans le but de mieux comprendre les mécanismes de la thermo­tolérance des coraux, j’ai développé une approche intégrative sur l’holobionte corallien (méta­organisme composé de l’hôte corallien, son algue symbiotique etson microbiote). Pour cela, j’ai réalisé une expérience de stress thermique écologiquement réaliste sur une espèce de corail, Pocillopora damicornis. Cette espèce étant présente dans l’ensemble de l’Indo­Pacifique, j’ai pu comparer la réponse de deux populations dont la thermotolérance est différente puisqu’elles sont soumises à des régimes thermiques contrastés. J’ai analysé, pour chacune d’entre­elles, la réponse de l’hôte corallien (par RNAseq), ainsi que la structure et les changements au niveau des microbiotes algaux et bactériens (par métabarcoding). Les résultats obtenus montrent qu’alors que la structure du microbiote n’est pas influencée par le stress, le corail y répond de façon très différente selon la population étudiée. La population issue d’un environnement plus fluctuant met en place une réponse plus efficace et plus plastique, probablement grâce à l’intervention de mécanismes épigénétiques. Une autre étude réalisée sur différentes populations de P. damicornis dans le cadre de cette thèse montre que la composition du microbiote est influencée par le génome de l’hôte ainsi que par le régime thermique. Un des clades de l’algue symbiotique connu pour améliorer la thermo­ tolérance de l’hôte corallien semble plus sensible aux basses températures que les autres. / In the context of global warming, coral reefs are experiencing thermal stresses which are becoming more frequent and intense. In order to get a better understanding of the mechanisms of coral thermo­tolerance, I developed an integrative approach on the coral holobiont (meta­ organism composed of the coral host, its symbiotic algae and microbiota). For this, I performed an ecologically realistic thermal stress experiment on a coral species, Pocillopora damicornis. This species is widespread in the Indo­Pacific area. I compared the response of two populations whose thermotolerance is different since they are subjected to contrasting thermal regimes. I analyzed, for each of them, the response of the coral host (by RNAseq), as well as the structure and changes in the algal and bacterial microbiota (by metabarcoding). The results show that,while the structure of the microbiota is not influenced by stress, coral responds very differently depending on the population studied. The population from a more fluctuating environment displays a more effective and more plastic response, probably thanks to the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms. Another study carried out on different populations of P. damicornisshowed that the composition of the microbiota is influenced by the host genome and the thermal regime. One of the clades of the symbiotic algae, known to improve the heat­tolerance of the coral host, appears more sensitive to low temperatures than the others.

Looking at the metabolite profile of an organism provides insights into the metabolomic state of a cell and hence also into pathways employed. Little is known about the metabolites produced by corals and their algal symbionts. In particular, corals from the central Red Sea are understudied, but interesting study objects, as they live in one of the warmest and most saline environments and can provide clues as to the adjustment of corals to environmental change. In this study, we applied gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS) metabolite profiling to analyze the metabolic profile of four coral species and their associated symbionts: Fungia granulosa, Acropora hemprichii, Porites lutea, and Pocillopora verrucosa. We identified and quantified 102 compounds among primary and secondary metabolites across all samples. F. granulosa and its symbiont showed a total of 59 metabolites which were similar to the 51 displayed by P. verrucosa. P. lutea and A. hemprichii both harbored 40 compounds in conjunction with their respective isolated algae. Comparing across species, 28 metabolites were exclusively present in algae, while 38 were exclusive to corals. A principal component and cluster analyses revealed that metabolite profiles clustered between corals and algae, but each species harbored a distinct catalog of metabolites. The major classes of compounds were carbohydrates and amino acids. Taken together, this study provides a first description of metabolites of Red Sea corals and their associated symbionts. As expected, the metabolites of coral hosts differ from their algal symbionts, but each host and algal species harbor a unique set of metabolites. This corroborates that host-symbiont species pairs display a fine-tuned complementary metabolism that provide insights into the specific nature of the symbiosis. Our analysis also revealed aquatic pollutants, which suggests that metabolite profiling might be used for monitoring pollution levels and assessing environmental impact.

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