CBASS 84 Red Sea Stylophora pistillata heat stress response patterns. CBASS 84

Corals from the northern Red Sea, in particular the Gulf of Aqaba (GoA), have exceptionally high bleaching thresholds approaching >5C above their maximum monthly mean (MMM) temperatures. These elevated thresholds are thought to be due to historical selection, as corals passed through the warmer Southern Red Sea during re-colonization from the Arabian Sea. To test this hypothesis, we determined thermal tolerance thresholds of GoA versus Central Red Sea (CRS) Stylophora pistillata corals using a series of standardized acute thermal stress assays with subsequent omics analysis of the holobiont.

红海北部海域的珊瑚，尤其是亚喀巴湾（Gulf of Aqaba, GoA）的种群，拥有极高的白化阈值，较其月均最高温（maximum monthly mean, MMM）高出超过5℃。这类异常升高的热耐受阈值被认为源于历史选择作用——在从阿拉伯海重新殖民的过程中，珊瑚曾经历过水温偏高的南红海环境。为验证这一假说，我们通过一系列标准化急性热应激实验，并结合对共生体（holobiont）的多组学分析，测定了亚喀巴湾与红海中部（Central Red Sea, CRS）的鹿角杯形珊瑚（Stylophora pistillata）的热耐受阈值。