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Science 4 June 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5676, p. 1409
DOI: 10.1126/science.304.5676.1409a
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This Week in Science

Figure 1 Episodes of coral bleaching (loss of the symbiotic dinoflagellates), which have occurred with increasing frequency during the past two decades, can result in coral mortality. Corals can recover from such bleaching events, but the source of the repopulating symbionts has been unknown. Lewis and Coffroth (p. 1490) show that adult soft corals can be repopulated by dinoflagellates, either by taking them up from seawater or by regrowth of resident algae. Little et al. (p. 1492) show that the association between stony (scleractinian) corals and their symbionts is also flexible during the first 9 months of establishment. In this case, the genotype of dinoflagellate harbored by a coral species influences the growth of the host and changes as the coral develops. Thus, coral hosts can cope with immediate changes in the environment, which increases the likelihood of the long-term survival of corals and the reefs they create.

CREDIT: LITTLE ET AL.




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