title: Preconditioning in the reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis and the potential for trans-generational acclimatization in coral larvae under future climate change conditions.
abstract: Coral reefs are globally threatened by climate change-related ocean warming and ocean acidification (OA). To date, slow-response mechanisms such as genetic adaptation have been considered the major determinant of coral reef persistence, with little consideration of rapid-response acclimatization mechanisms. These rapid mechanisms such as parental effects that can contribute to trans-generational acclimatization (e.g. epigenetics) have, however, been identified as important contributors to offspring response in other systems. We present the first evidence of parental effects in a cross-generational exposure to temperature and OA in reef-building corals. Here, we exposed adults to high (28.9°C, 805 µatm P(CO2)) or ambient (26.5°C, 417 µatm P(CO2)) temperature and OA treatments during the larval brooding period. Exposure to high treatment negatively affected adult performance, but their larvae exhibited size differences and metabolic acclimation when subsequently re-exposed, unlike larvae from parents exposed to ambient conditions. Understanding the innate capacity corals possess to respond to current and future climatic conditions is essential to reef protection and maintenance. Our results identify that parental effects may have an important role through (1) ameliorating the effects of stress through preconditioning and adaptive plasticity, and/or (2) amplifying the negative parental response through latent effects on future life stages. Whether the consequences of parental effects and the potential for trans-generational acclimatization are beneficial or maladaptive, our work identifies a critical need to expand currently proposed climate change outcomes for corals to further assess rapid response mechanisms that include non-genetic inheritance through parental contributions and classical epigenetic mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, PO Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA hputnam@hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Hollie M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Putnam
authors.affiliation: University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, PO Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gates
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D057231:Climate Change; D057894:Coral Reefs; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: Epigenetics; Ocean acidification; Parental effects; Stress; Temperature