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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Acclimatization Of The Tropical Reef Coral Acropora Millepora To Hyperthermal Stress, Anthony John Bellantuono
Acclimatization Of The Tropical Reef Coral Acropora Millepora To Hyperthermal Stress, Anthony John Bellantuono
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The demise of reef-building corals potentially lies on the horizon, given ongoing climate change amid other anthropogenic environmental stressors. If corals cannot acclimatize or adapt to changing conditions, dramatic declines in the extent and health of the living reefs are expected within the next half century. The primary and proximal global threat to corals is climate change. Reef-building corals are dependent upon a nutritional symbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates belonging to the group Symbiodinium. The symbiosis between the cnidarian host and algal partner is a stress-sensitive relationship; temperatures just 1°C above normal thermal maxima can result in the breakdown of …
Trace Metal Limitation And Its Role In Oxidative Stress Of Coral Algal Symbionts; Implications For Thermally Induced Coral Bleaching Events., Katrina Lynn Iglic
Trace Metal Limitation And Its Role In Oxidative Stress Of Coral Algal Symbionts; Implications For Thermally Induced Coral Bleaching Events., Katrina Lynn Iglic
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Coral bleaching, the process in which corals expel their photosynthetic symbionts (Genus Symbiodinium), is caused by high temperature and irradiance stress. The synergistic effect of each stressor is the generation of damaging reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS), which are normally mitigated physiologically by antioxidant enzyme activity. Antioxidant enzymes require iron, copper, manganese and zinc in their structure and the limited nature of these trace metals in reef environments may enhance ROS production under elevated temperature and irradiance. The hypothesis tested within this thesis was that a limited availability of the trace metals Fe, Mn, Cu and …