Given the critical role of microbes in host health, understanding microbial contribution to transgenerational plasticity is essential for generating realistic predictions of coral reef responses to future climate. Through a 4-year multigenerational experiment, the microbial dynamics in the tropical sea urchin Echinometra sp. A were explored under temperature and pCO2 levels predicted for years 2050 and 2100 (RCP 8.5).
Publication of this study:
Marangon, E., Uthicke, S., Patel, F., Marzinelli, E. M., Bourne, D. G., Webster, N. S., & Laffy, P. W. (2023). Life-stage specificity and cross-generational climate effects on the microbiome of a tropical sea urchin (Echinodermata: Echinoidea). Molecular Ecology, 00, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17124
Realted papers from the same experimental study (urchin physiological and behavioural performances):
Uthicke, S., Patel, F., Karelitz, S., Luter, H., Webster, N., & Lamare, M. (2020). Key biological responses over two generations of the sea urchin Echinometra sp. A under future ocean conditions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 637, 87–101. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13236
Karelitz, S., Lamare, M., Patel, F., Gemmell, N., & Uthicke, S. (2020). Parental acclimation to future ocean conditions increases development rates but decreases survival in sea urchin larvae. Marine Biology, 167(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-019-3610-5
Uthicke, S., Patel, F., Petrik, C., Watson, S., Karelitz, S. E., & Lamare, M. D. (2021). Cross-generational response of a tropical sea urchin to global change and a selection event in a 43-month mesocosm study. Glob Change Biol, 27: 3448-3462. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15657
