Meeting Abstract

131.2  Tuesday, Jan. 7 13:45  The arms race between host and pathogen in Caribbean sea fan pathosystems MANN, W.T.*; BURGE, C.A.; STACY, C.; BEACH-LETENDRE, J.; MYDLARZ, L.D.; The University of Texas at Arlington; Cornell University; The University of Texas at Arlington; The University of Texas at Arlington; The University of Texas at Arlington wtmann@uta.edu

A host and its pathogen are consistently at an arms race to develop new defenses against each other and shifting environmental conditions can have a significant impact on this relationship. When conditions favor the pathogen, chances of infection increase leading to the development of diseases. In many coral systems, higher disease prevalence is linked to rising sea surface temperatures, associated with global climate change. This has been particularly true for the Caribbean sea fan coral Gorgonia ventalina, where over the past few decades a variety of diseases have emerged. In multiple studies, chronic stress has been observed in several experimental and field observations. Individuals were exposed to temperatures >30°C for a period of 2 weeks (experimental) to 10 weeks (field). Experimental exposure to temperature stress demonstrated heightened levels in immune activity. Similar patterns were observed in the field during early time points of the stress period, however immune activity decreased as the duration of stress continued. The integration of these data suggests that although sea fans possess the immunological repertoire to fight infection induced by elevated temperatures, longer and chronic durations of temperature stress can eventually lead to disease. Elevated temperatures may also present an advantage to the pathogen, creating likelihood for infection. These data illustrate how coral diseases may be developing and can help in future predictions of how coral populations may endure projected climate change scenarios.