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Endolithic algae ( Ostreobium ) diversity in Porites corals at the Western Atlantic and Eastern Tropical Pacific
  • Juan Sánchez,
  • Juan Sebastián Giraldo-Vaca
Juan Sánchez
Universidad de los Andes Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas

Corresponding Author:juansanc@uniandes.edu.co

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Juan Sebastián Giraldo-Vaca
Universidad de los Andes Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas
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Abstract

Ostreobium comprise endolithic algae commonly seen in conjunction with scleractinian corals. In the past, it was solely recognized as a coral skeleton bioeroder. Yet, their relationship with corals is critical because they give photosynthetic byproducts and help the coral when it loses its primary symbionts due to stress. The variety of these algae among coral species of the genus Porites in the tropical easter Pacific and western Atlantic was investigated here. We extracted Ostreobium samples from seven Porites species including two from the Tropical Easter Pacific-TEP ( P. panamensis, P. lobata) and five from the Caribbean (P . furcata, P. porites, P. colonensis, P. branneri, and P. astreoides). We also compared the new rbcL sequences from algae found within various coral species from other parts of the world. A biogeographic analysis and two methodologies, PTP (Poisson tree process) and GMYC (General Mixed Yule-Coalescent), were used to delineate the different species. The findings revealed a significant degree of genetic diversity within Ostreobium, with more than 15 groups of no more than three individuals and 40 individual lineages. Its origins date back to the Ordovician, 500 Ma, and it does not appear to preserve host-specificity. The sampled locations include a wide variety of Ostreobium still, biogeographically, varied patterns were confirmed, making it impossible to pinpoint the precise origins of most clades. The ancestry analyses revealed convergent events for the emergence of Ostreobium in a few genera of local corals, but the phenomenon also occurred in genera from far-off places.
18 May 2023Submitted to Marine Ecology
18 May 2023Submission Checks Completed
18 May 2023Assigned to Editor
18 May 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Jan 20241st Revision Received
30 Jan 2024Submission Checks Completed
30 Jan 2024Assigned to Editor
02 Feb 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
22 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
25 Jul 2024Editorial Decision: Accept