Symbiosis Ecology

The coral-algal symbiosis is the foundation of coral reefs. We study the dynamics within and between coral colonies and how they impact thermal tolerance and biochemistry. The foundation of this work is an effort to better describe the patterns of symbiont diversity and abundance across Kāneʻohe Bay, through time and across bleaching events.

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Ongoing Projects

  • Fine-scale intracolonial variation in symbiont communities

  • Bay-wide bleaching time-series in Montipora capitata

Publications

Dilworth J, Caruso C, Kahkejian V, Baker AC, Drury C. Host genotype and stable differences in algal symbiont communities explain patterns of thermal stress response of Montipora capitata following thermal pre-exposure and across multiple bleaching events. Coral Reefs (2020). Link.

Matsuda S, Chakravarti LJ, Cunning R, Huffmyer AS, Nelson CE, Gates RD, van Oppen MJH. Temperature-mediated acquisition of rare heterologous symbionts promotes survival of coral larvae under ocean warming. Global Change Biology (2021). Link.

Rocha de Souza M, Caruso C, Ruiz-Jones L, Drury C, Gates RD, Toonen RJ. Community composition of coral-associated Symbiodiniaceae is driven by fine-scale environmental gradients. Royal Society Open Science (2022). Link.