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.

Rocha de Souza M, Caruso C, Ruiz-Jones L, Drury C, Gates RD, Toonen RJ. Importance of depth and temperature variability as drivers of coral symbiont composition despite a mass bleaching event. Scientific Reports (2022). Link.

Harris C, Baker AC, Bean N, Gates RD, Drury C. Stable symbiont communities persist in parents, gametes and larvae of Montipora capitata across historical bleaching phenotypes. Coral Reefs (2022). Link.

Caruso C, Rocha de Souza M, Ruiz-Jones L, Conetta D, Hancock J, Hobbs C, Kahkejian V, Kitchen R, Marin C, Monismith S, Madin J, Gates RD, Drury C. Genetic patterns in Montipora capitata across an environmental mosaic in Kāneʻohe Bay. Molecular Ecology (2022). Link.

Tortorelli G, Rosset S, Sullivan CES, Woo S, Johnston EC, Walker NS, Hancock JR, Caruso C, Varela A, Hughes K, Martin C, Quinn RA, Drury C. Heat-induced stress modulates cell surface glycans and membrane lipids of coral symbionts. In Press (2024). Data Link.