Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
7-16-2013
Publication Source
PeerJ
Volume
1
Start Page
e107
DOI
10.7717/peerj.107
Abstract
Algae-derived dissolved organic matter has been hypothesized to induce mortality of reef building corals. One proposed killing mechanism is a zone of hypoxia created by rapidly growing microbes. To investigate this hypothesis, biological oxygen demand (BOD) optodes were used to quantify the change in oxygen concentrations of microbial communities following exposure to exudates generated by turf algae and crustose coralline algae (CCA). BOD optodes were embedded with microbial communities cultured from Montastraea annularis and Mussismilia hispida, and respiration was measured during exposure to turf and CCA exudates. The oxygen concentrations along the optodes were visualized with a low-cost Submersible Oxygen Optode Recorder (SOOpR) system. With this system we observed that exposure to exudates derived from turf algae stimulated higher oxygen drawdown by the coral-associated bacteria than CCA exudates or seawater controls. Furthermore, in both turf and CCA exudate treatments, all microbial communities (coral-, algae-associated and pelagic) contributed significantly to the observed oxygen drawdown. This suggests that the driving factor for elevated oxygen consumption rates is the source of exudates rather than the initially introduced microbial community. Our results demonstrate that exudates from turf algae may contribute to hypoxia-induced coral stress in two different coral genera as a result of increased biological oxygen demand of the local microbial community. Additionally, the SOOpR system developed here can be applied to measure the BOD of any culturable microbe or microbial community.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2013 Gregg et al.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Recommended Citation
Gregg, A. K., Hatay, M., Haas, A. F., Robinett, N. L., Barott, K., Vermeij, M. J., Marhaver, K. L., Meirelles, P. M., Thompson, F., & Rohwer, F. (2013). Biological Oxygen Demand Optode Analysis of Coral Reef-Associated Microbial Communities Exposed to Algal Exudates. PeerJ, 1 e107-. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.107
Included in
Biology Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Microbiology Commons
Date Posted: 04 October 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
At the time of this publication, Dr. Barott was affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, but she is now a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania.