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Cryobiology of Coral Fragments

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Abstract

  • Around the world, coral reefs are dying due to human influences, and saving habitat alone may not stop this destruction. This investigation focused on the biological processes that will provide the first steps in understanding the cryobiology of whole coral fragments. Coral fragments are a partnership of coral tissue and endosymbiotic algae, Symbiodinium sp., commonly called zooxanthellae. These data reflected their separate sensitivities to chilling and cryoprotectants (dimethyl sulfoxide) for the coral Pocillapora damicornis, as measured by tissue loss and Pulse Amplitude Modulated fluorometry 3 weeks post-treatment. Five cryoprotectant treatments maintained the viability of the coral tissue and zooxanthellae at control values (1 M dimethyl sulfoxide at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 h exposures, and 1.5 M dimethyl sulfoxide at 1.0 and 1.5 h exposures, P> 0.05, ANOVA), whereas 2 M concentrations did not (P 0.05, ANOVA), but it did not protect against the loss of zooxanthellae (P< 0.05, ANOVA). The zooxanthellae are the most sensitive element in the coral fragment complex and future cryopreservation protocols must be guided by their greater sensitivities.

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  • 2013

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