Reef location has a greater impact than coral bleaching severity on the microbiome of Pocillopora acuta

Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by heat stress events leading to coral bleaching. In 2016, a mass bleaching event affected large parts of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Whilst bleaching severity and coral mortality are usually monitored throughout major bleaching events, other health indicators, such as changes in microbial partners, are rarely assessed. We examined the impact of the 2016 bleaching event on the composition of the microbial communities in the coral Pocillopora acuta at Havannah Island Pandora reef, separated by 12 km on the inshore central GBR. Corals experienced moderate heat stress (3.6 and 5.3 degree heating weeks), inducing major bleaching (30-60%) at the coral community level. Samples were partitioned according to Symbiodiniaceae densities into three bleaching severity categories (mild, moderate, and severe). Whilst Symbiodiniaceae densities were similar at both reef locations, sequencing of the Symbiodiniaceae ITS2 and prokaryotic 16S rRNA genes revealed that microbial communities were significantly different between reefs, but not according to bleaching severity. Symbiodiniaceae composition was dominated by the genus Cladocopium with low abundances of Durusdinium detected in moderately and severely bleached colonies at both sites, despite site-specific ITS2 profiles. Bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria and were almost entirely lacking the common Pocilloporid associate Endozoicomonas regardless of bleaching severity. Strikingly, only 11.2% of the bacterial Amplicon Sequencing Variants (ASVs) were shared between sites. This reef specificity was driven by 165 ASVs, mainly from the family Rhodobacteraceae. Comparison with previous studies suggests that the moderate heat stress experienced on the central GBR in 2016 caused the near-complete absence of Endozoicomonas. Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria (particularly Rhodobacteraceae) can be vertically transmitted in P. acuta, and larval propagation can be spatially restricted for this brooding species. Our results demonstrate that, unlike bleaching severity, location-specific factors and species-specific life history traits might have been paramount in shaping the P. acuta microbiome.

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of heat stress events on the microbial communities of corals in the Great Barrier Reef, finding that while Symbiodiniaceae densities were similar, microbial communities differed significantly between reefs, not based on bleaching severity. Site-specific factors and species-specific traits played a key role in shaping the microbiome of the coral Pocillopora acuta.