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Palmyra Atoll Corallimorph and Bleaching Surveys

Scleractinian corals host species-specific microbial communities known as the “coral holobiont.” This community of microbes includes bacteria, viruses, and symbiotic zooxanthellae. It has been shown that changes in abiotic conditions such as ocean warming or storm disturbance can alter this community and result in a decline in coral health. However, although a number of studies have looked at shifts in the coral holobiont community when exposed to abiotic stressors, few have examined biotic stressors such as exposure to invasive species. Palmyra Atoll, a remote, uninhabited island in the Central Pacific, has been undergoing an invasion of the corallimorph, Rhodactis howesii. Corallimorphs are Cnidarians that lack any calcified structure. The species R. howesii contains large stinging cells (nematocysts) that appear to cause tissue necrosis in hard corals as they grow over them. Despite the corallimorphs’ competitive dominance on the reef and invasive potential, little is known about their actual mechanisms of invasion, including microbial or chemical agents that may be involved. In addition to the local stressor of the corallimorph, we also have the chance to compare species-specific responses of corals to a wide-scale bleaching event that occurred at Palmyra Atoll in 2015. Complimentary samples were taken of bleached corals within the same taxa so that a comparison between the biotic stressor of the corallimorph could be compared to the in situ, abiotic stressor of bleaching due to elevated temperatures and irradiance. This is a unique data set that will provide for novel comparison of the two stressors on corals in a relatively pristine environment.

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