Coral and water microbiomes from marine protected areas and fished areas

We investigated how coral-dominated marine protected areas affect coral and water microbiomes and coral chemical defense against a coral bleaching pathogen, Vibrio coralliilyticus compared to algal-dominated fished areas. We performed Illumina sequencing of the bacterial 16S gene to characterize the coral and benthic water microbiome. We found species specific responses among three coral species, Acropora millepora, Pocillopora damicornis, and Porites cylindrica to reef state that suggest that marine protected areas may help mitigate global change stressors.