Gobiid fishes of the genus Gobiodon live in strong association with certain reef-building corals that vary considerably in size and architecture. These fishes hence are excellent model systems for studying evolutionary adaption to specific microhabitats. Using a sample of Gobiodon histrio and G. rivulatus and their most important host corals (Acropora digitifera and A. gemmifera) from the north...

Recent evidence suggests that corals can acclimatize or adapt to local stress factors through differential regulation of their gene expression. Profiling gene expression in corals from diverse environments can elucidate the physiological processes that may be responsible for maximizing coral fitness in their natural habitat and lead to a better understanding of the coral's capacity to survive t...

Larval production and recruitment underpin the maintenance of coral populations, but these early life history stages are vulnerable to extreme variation in physical conditions. Environmental managers aim to minimise human impacts during significant periods of larval production and recruitment on reefs, but doing so requires knowledge of the modes and timing of coral reproduction. Most corals ar...

Corals build their skeletons using extracellular calcifying fluid located in the tissue-skeleton interface. However, the mechanism by which corals control the transport of calcium and other ions from seawater and the mechanism of constant alkalization of calcifying fluid are largely unknown. To address these questions, we performed direct pH imaging at calcification sites (subcalicoblastic medi...

Interactions between Corals and their Symbiotic Algae Gisèle Muller-Parker and Christopher F. D'Elia The mutualistic relationship between corals and their algal endosymbionts is a key factor in the evolutionary success of hermatypic (reef building) corals. Corals that harbor endosymbiotic algae exhibit faster rates of calcification, photoautotrophy and many other attributes that are believed to...

Bleaching was studied in populations of phylogenetically closely related species (n = 21) of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) around Pari Island (Java Sea) during a period of excessive seawater warming in 1983. The interspecific variation in the proportions of affected individuals was significant. Spatial variation in the degree of bleaching anlong fungiid assemblages depended much on ...

Coral reefs are the most biodiverse and biologically productive of all marine ecosystems. Corals harbor diverse and abundant prokaryotic communities. However, little is known about the diversity of coral-associated bacterial communities. Mucus is a characteristic product of all corals, forming a coating over their polyps. The coral mucus is a rich substrate for microorganisms. Mucus was collect...

The endosymbiosis between dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium and stony corals provides the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. Coral bleaching, the expulsion of endosymbionts from the coral host tissue as a consequence of heat or light stress, poses a threat to reef ecosystem functioning on a global scale. Hence, a better understanding of the factors contributing to heat stress sus...