Sampling *Montipora flabellata* symbionts
Not a whole lot of work has been done on Montipora flabellata in Kaneohe Bay, which is much less abundant than Montipora capitata. Nevertheless, M. capitata hosts symbionts from at least two clades of Symbiodinium, and so it is possible that M. flabellata also has flexible symbioses. To get an initial idea of what Symbiodinium clades are present in M. flabellata, I am collecting some small tissue samples from fragments that are now bleached, some that did not bleach, and some that bleached and recovered, and are being maintained in experimental tanks at the Point Lab. I will extract DNA and run qPCR assays to determine the relative abundance of clade C and/or D in these samples.
Samples collected:
SampleID | Colony ID | Origin | Status | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
660 | P | bleached | ||
661 | P | bleached | ||
662 | P | bleached | ||
663 | A | HIMB | recovered | tip |
664 | A | HIMB | recovered | edge |
665 | A | HIMB | recovered | dark edge |
666 | 1 | did not bleach | ||
667 | 1 | did not bleach | ||
668 | 1 | did not bleach | ||
669 | 2 | did not bleach | 364 edge | |
670 | 2 | did not bleach | 359 edge - unhealthy | |
671 | 2 | did not bleach | 355 tip |
Small tissue samples were collected in 1% SDS in DNAB, and immediately incubated at 65°C for 1.5 hrs.