title: Symbiodiniumspp. associated with scleractinian corals from Dongsha Atoll (Pratas), Taiwan, in the South China Sea.
abstract: Dongsha Atoll (also known as Pratas) in Taiwan is the northernmost atoll in the South China Sea and a designated marine national park since 2007. The marine park's scope of protection covers the bio-resources of its waters in addition to uplands, so it is important to have data logging information and analyses of marine flora and fauna, including their physiology, ecology, and genetics. As part of this effort, we investigatedSymbiodiniumassociations in scleractinian corals from Dongsha Atoll through surveys carried out at two depth ranges (shallow, 1-5 m; and deep, 10-15 m) in 2009 and during a bleaching event in 2010.Symbiodiniumcomposition was assessed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of 28S nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (nlsrDNA). Our results showed that the 796 coral samples from seven families and 20 genera collected in 2009 and 132 coral samples from seven families and 12 genera collected in 2010 were associated withSymbiodiniumC, D and C+D. Occurrence of clade D in shallow water (24.5%) was higher compared to deep (14.9%). Due to a bleaching event in 2010, up to 80% of coral species associated withSymbiodiniumC underwent moderate to severe bleaching. Using the fine resolution technique of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in 175 randomly selected coral samples, from 2009 and 2010, eightSymbiodiniumC types and twoSymbiodiniumD types were detected. This study is the first baseline survey onSymbiodiniumassociations in the corals of Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea, and it shows the dominance ofSymbiodiniumclade C in the population.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Taipei , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shashank
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keshavmurthy
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Hsun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Taipei , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Min
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Taipei , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chai-Hsia
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Chao-Yang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography, Dongsha Atoll Research Station, National Sun Yat-Sen University , Kaohsuing , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Keryea
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University , Taipei , Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hong-Nong
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP)-Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chaolun Allen
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Dongsha Atoll; South China sea; Symbiodinium C; Symbiodinium association; Symbiodinium glynii; Symbiodinium trenchii