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NSF Web Site

Press Release 09-168
Global Warming Causes Outbreak of Rare Algae
in Caribbean Corals
Scientists take advantage of 'experiment of nature' to discover new insights
into coral bleaching
This image was taken in October, 2005, during a coral-
bleaching event in the Caribbean.
Credit and Larger Version
September 9, 2009
A rare opportunity has allowed a team of scientists to evaluate corals--and the
essential, photosynthetic algae that live inside their cells--before, during, and after a
period in 2005 when global warming caused sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean
to rise.
The team, led by Penn State biologist Todd LaJeunesse, found that a rare species of
algae that's tolerant of stressful environmental conditions proliferated in corals at a
time when more sensitive algae that usually dwell within the corals were being
expelled.
The results will be published in the online version of the journal Proceedings of the
Royal Society B on September 9, 2009.
Certain species of algae have evolved over millions of years to live in symbiotic
relationships with species of corals. These photosynthetic algae provide the corals with
nutrients and energy, while the corals provide the algae with a place to live.
"There is a fine balance between giving and taking in these symbiotic relationships,"
said LaJeunesse.
Symbiodinium trenchi is normally a rare species of algae in the Caribbean, according to
LaJeunesse. "Because the species is apparently tolerant of high or fluctuating
temperatures, it was able to take advantage of a 2005 warming event and become
more prolific."
Symbiodinium trenchi appears to have saved certain colonies of coral from the
damaging effects of unusually warm water.
The white corals pictured have lost
their symbiotic algae and appear
"bleached."
Credit and Larger Version
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"As ocean temperatures rise as a result of global warming, we can expect this species
to become more common and persistent," said LaJeunesse. "However, since it is not
normally associated with corals in the Caribbean, we don't know if its increased
presence will benefit or harm corals in the long term."
If Symbiodinium trenchi takes from the corals more than it gives back, over time the
corals' health will decline.
"'Experiments of nature' provide unique opportunities to discover important new
insights," said Michael Mishkind, program director in the National Science Foundation
(NSF)'s Division of Integrative Organismal Systems, which funded the research.
"These scientists took advantage of just such an event--with the unexpected discovery
that an alternate algal species was waiting in the wings. Whether this 'understudy'
helps or hinders its host remains to be determined."
In 2005, sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean rose by up to two degrees Celsius
above normal for a period of three to four months, high enough and long enough to
severely stress corals.
The process of damaged or dying algae being expelled from the cells of corals is known
as bleaching because it leaves behind bone-white coral skeletons that soon will die
without their symbiotic partners.
During the summer of 2005, prior to the bleaching event, LaJeunesse and his
colleagues collected samples of coral and algae from two locations near Barbados in the
Caribbean.
By late November, water temperatures had peaked and many corals were bleached.
The team collected samples of coral and algae during the bleaching event and again
two years after ocean temperatures returned to normal. In the laboratory, they
sequenced the organisms' DNA to identify the species.
"During the bleaching event, we found that Symbiodinium trenchi, which is rarely
found in the Caribbean, had increased in frequency by 50 percent or more in coral
species that are most sensitive to warm water," said LaJeunesse.
"We also saw this species in corals where it had never been before. Two years later,
we found that the abundance and occurrence of Symbiodinium trenchi had diminished
significantly. Today the symbioses have mostly recovered to their normal state, and the
corals have been repopulated by their typical algal symbionts."
Although Symbiodinium trenchi saved some corals from dying in 2005, LaJeunesse is
concerned that the species might not be good for the corals if warming trends continue
and Symbiodinium trenchi becomes more common.
"Because Symbiodinium trenchi does not appear to have successfully co-evolved with
Caribbean coral species, it may not provide the corals with adequate nutrition," he
said.
LaJeunesse plans to further investigate the relationship between Symbiodinium trenchi
and Caribbean coral species.
"We're interested in looking at how it behaves in other regions of the world where it's
naturally common," he said.
The research also was supported by Florida International University, Penn State
University, and the University of the West Indies.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
Barbara Kennedy, Penn State (814) 863-4682 science@psu.edu
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Last Updated: September 9, 2009