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Ocean warming can help zoanthids outcompete branching hydrocorals

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Abstract

Although coral–algae competition is more widely and frequently studied, invertebrates are also major coral competitors, potentially influencing reef structural complexity. Ocean warming can affect the outcome of coral–algae interactions, but its effect on the competition between corals and other invertebrates is poorly understood. In Southwestern Atlantic reefs, the branching hydrocoral Millepora alcicornis provides important structural complexity but is commonly in contact with the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum. Considering that P. caribaeorum is an efficient competitor that is likely to be more resistant to future ocean warming, the potential replacement of M. alcicornis by this zoanthid could reduce reef structural complexity and diversity. We combined field and laboratory experiments to investigate the mechanisms of this hydrocoral–zoanthid interaction, including the role of allelochemicals, to understand the response of M. alcicornis to contact by P. caribaeorum, and the impact of increasing temperatures on this interaction. Contact with P. caribaeorum caused more damage to M. alcicornis than the physical control under current temperature (27 °C), both in field and laboratory experiments, but the damaged area recovered within 10 days. Under simulated warming (30 °C) filamentous algae colonized the damaged area, impairing the recovery of M. alcicornis. Contact with P. caribaeorum chemical extract under current temperature caused more damage to M. alcicornis than its control but caused similar damage under warming conditions. These results highlight that warming increased M. alcicornis susceptibility to any physical contact and reduced its recovery potential, indicating that it may be outcompeted and overgrown by P. caribaeorum as the ocean warms.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Serrapilheira Institute (Grant No. Serra-1708-15364) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq; Grant No. 435201/2018-2) awarded to GOL. GOL is also grateful to a research productivity scholarship provided by CNPq (Grant No. 310517/2019-2). BCL had the financial support of a CNPq master’s scholarship and a technician scholarship (Grant No.443329/2019-2 awarded to GOL). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, through a postdoctoral scholarship to EAV. We thank ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) and APARC (Área de Proteção Ambiental dos Recifes de Corais) for research permits (SISBIO 64443-1; 64/2019 NUC-IDEMA); A. Lima, A. Leduc, C. Pacheco, J. Bleuel, K. Inagaki, L. Souza, L. Freire, N. Roos, R. Silva, and W. Fernandes for help in data collection and experiments; and G. Dias, N. Ross, B. Segal, and I. Cruz for valuable suggestions in earlier versions of the manuscript.

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  1. Bruno Charnaux Lonzetti and Edson Aparecido Vieira contributed equally to this manuscript.

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  1. Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Oceanography and Limnology, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, RN, 59014-002, Brasil

    Bruno Charnaux Lonzetti, Edson Aparecido Vieira & Guilherme Ortigara Longo

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Lonzetti, B.C., Vieira, E.A. & Longo, G.O. Ocean warming can help zoanthids outcompete branching hydrocorals. Coral Reefs 41, 175–189 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-021-02212-9

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