题目:  Genetic diversity of potentially free-living Symbiodinium in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea: Implications for the resilience of coral reefs 

作者: Zhou G. W., H. Huang*, Z. N. Yu, Z. J. Dong, Y. C. Li. 

刊物: Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management,（IF=0.653，IV区）

刊号: 2012, 15(2):152-160 

摘要: Free-living Symbiodinium have been the focus of considerable attention among coral reef researchers because they represent a source of symbionts for both recently recruited corals and adult corals that are subject to environmental stress (e.g. climate change). We evaluated the genetic diversity of free-living Symbiodinium in seawater collected from the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea using sequence analysis of the hypervariable region of the chloroplast 23S. We sequenced a total of 267 cloned gene fragments representing Symbiodinium in clades A, B, C, D, F, and G, of which 34 were distinct types. The diversity of free-living Symbiodinium types was high at all sites. The majority of Symbiodinium sequences belonged to clade C. There was no significant difference in Symbiodinium sequence types among sites or depths. Our results highlight the high diversity of free-living Symbiodinium pools in the coral reef environment and provide a foundation for future studies of the spatiotemporal distribution of Symbiodinium. Such information is critical to understand and predict the influence of symbiotic dinoflagellates on the adaptation of their host to environmental changes. 

题目: Coral bleaching caused by an abnormal water temperature rise at Luhuitou fringing reef, Sanya Bay, China 

作者: Li X. B., S. Liu, H. Huang*, L. M. Huang, Z. Y. Jing, C. L. Zhang 

刊物: Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management,（IF=0.653，IV区）

刊号: 22012, 15(2):227-233 

摘要: Luhuitou fringing reef, which has been seriously affected by human activities and terrestrial runoff, has degraded quickly in recent decades. However, direct impact by hyperthermal stress has probably been minimal because of the influence of the Qiongdong upwelling in summer. Seawater temperature anomalies in 2010 resulted in mean monthly seawater temperatures in summer to be 1–2 ◦ C higher than in the same period of the 3 preceding years. Moderate coral bleaching at Luhuitou fringing reef was observed in the summer of 2010 due to high thermal stress. Montipora was the most susceptible taxon, whereas Galaxea fascicularis and Pocillopora damicornis were among the least susceptible taxa. Mortality of Montipora was 21.7%, whereas for the remaining taxa it was less than 5%. No mortality was observed for tabular Acropora, G. fascicularis, P. damicornis, Favites and Leptoria. Most taxa showed relatively high bleaching in larger colonies compared with that in smaller ones. Juvenile coral colonies showed less bleaching (3%) than adult coral colonies (28%). Our study suggested that although most taxa in the survey area might recover from this moderate coral bleaching episode, coral reproduction in the year following bleaching may be adversely affected.