Mangubhai & Harrison (2008; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 360:85–96) documented spawning patterns in an equatorial assemblage of Acropora spp. in Kenya over a 2 yr period. They concluded that reproductive seasons are more protracted at low latitudes and that ‘mass spawning’ does not occur in equatorial regions, due to a breakdown in spawning synchrony among species. However, this interpretation hinges on t...

Genome sequences of the reef-building coral, Acropora digitifera, have been decoded. Acropora inhabits an environment with intense ultraviolet exposure and hosts the photosynthetic endosymbiont, Symbiodinium. Acropora homologs of all four genes necessary for biosynthesis of the photoprotective cyanobacterial compound, shinorine, are present. Among metazoans, these genes are found only in anthoz...

Citation: Quigley KM, Bay LK and Willis BL (2017) Temperature and Water Quality-Related Patterns in Sediment-Associated Symbiodinium Communities Impact Symbiont Uptake and Fitness of Juveniles in the Genus Acropora. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:401. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00401 Temperature and Water Quality-Related Patterns in Sediment-Associated Symbiodinium Communities Impact Symbiont Uptake and Fitne...

Reef-building corals, which reproduce through simultaneous multispecies spawning, are thought to hybridize frequently, and it is hypothesized that they have evolved in repeated rounds of species separation and fusion. We conducted cross-fertilization experiments and molecular analyses with a number of mass-spawning coral species in the genus Acropora. A high rate of interspecific fertilization ...

We propose 'the moving target hypothesis' to describe the aetiology of a contemporary coral disease that differs from that of its historical disease state. Hitting the target with coral disease aetiology is a complex pursuit that requires understanding of host and environment, and may lack a single pathogen solution. White pox disease (WPX) affects the Caribbean coral Acropora palmata. Acropori...

the persian gulf is northern part of the ropme sea area (rsa), and is semi-enclosed shallow sea which located in subtropical climate. measuring is 1000km in length, varying in width 60-340km, and average depth is about 35m and maximum depth is 105m. this research was carried out during 2005-2010 for reviewing the corals status and determination of coral reef habitats distribution in the persian...

OBJECTIVES To compare the therapeutic potential of tissue-engineered constructs (TECs) combining mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and coral granules from either Acropora or Porites to repair large bone defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bone marrow-derived, autologous MSCs were seeded on Acropora or Porites coral granules in a perfusion bioreactor. Acropora-TECs (n = 7), Porites-TECs (n = 6) and bon...

Hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is on a trajectory of decline. However, little is known about past coral mortality before the advent of long-term monitoring (circa 1980s). Using paleoecological analysis and high-precision uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating, we reveal an extensive loss of branching Acropora corals and changes in coral community structure in the Palm Islands region of...