不同无机氮浓度下三角褐指藻藻际细菌群落变化研究

藻际环境细菌和微藻间存在着独特的生态关系,它们可以通过转化和交换浮游植物分泌的有机质来影响其生理和代谢。尽管一些功能微生物在藻际环境的营养循环中具有重要作用,例如氮代谢,但是关于细菌群落与共生藻类如何响应环境中氮营养条件的改变目前并不十分清楚,其对于我们了解全球营养物质循环、藻华的形成以及生态系统功能至关重要。本文基于16S rRNA基因的高通量测序技术,分析了不同形态、不同浓度无机氮培养条件下三角褐指藻藻际环境中相关细菌群落的多样性和群落结构。系统发育分析结果表明,变形菌（Proteobacteria）和拟杆菌（Bacteroidetes）是所有样品中的优势菌,占序列总数的99.5%。同时发现,不同氮浓度培养条件下,细菌群落结构随微藻丰度的变化而改变。氮浓度及形态的变化对菌群结构的影响不显著。此外,γ-变形菌纲中三种细菌（Marinobacter;Algiphilus;Methylophaga）的相对丰度在氮限制培养条件下明显增加,它们可能在共生体系的氮转化过程中具有重要作用。     

海水酸化和升温对孔石藻（Porolithon onkodes）共附生细菌及其诱导珊瑚幼虫附着的影响

珊瑚藻是珊瑚礁生态系统中一类主要的钙化生物,不仅能够构建、稳固礁体,而且与造礁石珊瑚关系密切,其对造礁石珊瑚幼虫附着的促进作用是退化石珊瑚群落恢复的关键。但是,面对未来气候变化,珊瑚藻对珊瑚幼虫的诱导作用会如何响应,以及该过程是否与藻体共附生细菌群落有关,目前尚不清楚。本文选取了广泛分布于我国南海珊瑚礁生态系统中的孔石藻（Porolithon onkodes）为研究对象,分别采用不同pCO2和温度培养孔石藻31 d,研究不同处理后孔石藻对鹿角杯形珊瑚幼虫附着的影响,并通过分析藻体共附生细菌群落的变化情况,探究细菌多样性与孔石藻对珊瑚幼虫诱导功能的关系。结果表明,与对照组相比,酸化（1200 ppm/1800 ppm pCO2）和升温（30 ℃/32 ℃）均没有显著影响孔石藻诱导鹿角杯形珊瑚（Pocillopora damicornis）幼虫附着,其中温度30 ℃,pCO2 1200 ppm时,珊瑚幼虫附着率最高100.00%。采用16s rRNA高通量测序技术分析了不同处理组孔石藻共附生细菌群落结构及多样性。结果表明,孔石藻共附生细菌主要由变形菌门、拟杆菌门和绿弯菌门等菌群构成,其中变形菌门含量达到40.34%~73.45%;与酸化相比,孔石藻共附生细菌群落对温度变化更敏感,其中32 ℃处理组具有更高的细菌多样性,但经Kruskal-wallis秩和检验显示不同温度和CO2浓度处理组,在门、纲、属水平上细菌多样性、丰度及组成均无显著性差异,说明孔石藻共附生细菌群落结构相对稳定,推测这可能与孔石藻诱导珊瑚幼虫附着不受温度和酸化影响密切相关。研究结果对预测未来气候变化对珊瑚礁生态系统的影响、制定珊瑚礁生态系统保护与修复策略具有重要的理论价值和生态意义。     

高温白化事件可提高涠洲岛澄黄滨珊瑚（Porites lutea）的耐热性

近年来,全球气候变暖引起的海水表层温度上升导致大规模珊瑚白化事件频繁发生,严重损害了珊瑚礁的生态健康。为了揭示白化事件对澄黄滨珊瑚（Porites lutea）耐热性的影响,进一步探索滨珊瑚对高温的生理响应,本研究对广西涠洲岛2020年夏季极端高温白化事件前、后的澄黄滨珊瑚进行了高温胁迫对比实验,并进行了生理生化指标分析。结果显示:（1）两组澄黄滨珊瑚对高温胁迫的响应模式一致,均表现为珊瑚触手收缩,虫黄藻密度、最大光量子产量（Fv/Fm）和叶绿素a含量明显降低,抗氧化物（总超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化氢酶、还原型谷胱甘肽）和铵同化酶（谷氨酰胺合成酶）活性（含量）先升后降;（2）经历高温白化事件后的澄黄滨珊瑚生理指标表现更佳,其抗氧化物和铵同化酶都始终保持高的活性及灵敏的响应。这意味着涠洲岛的澄黄滨珊瑚经历高温白化事件后,可以通过提高抗氧化物和铵同化酶活性来提升耐热性,是其应对全球变暖的策略之一。本研究还揭示了涠洲岛澄黄滨珊瑚应对极端高温的生理响应模式,为珊瑚礁保护和生态修复提供了理论支持。     

福建三沙湾海域细菌群落结构及其形成机制

细菌群落在水生生态系统中起着非常关键的作用。基于DNA和RNA高通量测序技术研究了福建三沙湾海域细菌的群落结构及其形成机制。结果发现：（1）三沙湾海域中共检测到细菌1 476个操作分类单元（OTUs）,其中γ-变形菌、α-变形菌、蓝细菌和拟杆菌为多样性最高的类群;（2）基于DNA和RNA高通量测序技术均发现这4种类群同时也是该海域细菌群落中的优势类群,但其代谢活性处于不同的状态,主要受到盐度、总氮、亚硝氮和无机磷酸盐浓度的调控;（3）三沙湾细菌群落结构在空间尺度上的分布存在差异,表现为地理位置上越相近的海区其细菌群落结构越相似。中性模型进一步分析发现,三沙湾海域细菌群落的形成主要受到中性过程的调控。本研究结果可为深入理解福建三沙湾海域中细菌群落结构及其形成机制提供理论依据。     

琼枝白化特征及其附生菌群多样性分析

2021—2022年,海南昌江养殖的琼枝(Betaphycus gelatinae)白化现象频发,造成了一定的经济损失,影响了海洋生态环境。为探究白化琼枝的特征和附生菌群落结构的差异,本研究分析了不同状态琼枝的形态差异;测定了色素含量、光合生理、生理生化等指标;分离、鉴定了不同状态琼枝表面的可培养附生细菌,同时采用16S rRNA高通量测序技术分析了健康琼枝(BgR)和白化琼枝(BgW)表面附生细菌的α多样性、β多样性以及菌群群落结构组成。研究显示,白化琼枝藻体的皮层组织结构遭到破坏,色素含量、最大光合效率(QY＿max)显著降低,活性氧(ROS)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、丙二醛(MDA)、脯氨酸(Pro)含量显著降低(p<0.05);BgW的可培养附生细菌数量(2.76×10⁷ cfu/g)显著高于BgR(3.3×10⁴ cfu/g),BgR中可培养附生细菌优势菌为鲁杰氏菌属(Ruegeria),BgW中为Yoonia属;高通量测序结果显示,两组样品附生菌群的α多样性指数无显著差异,但BgW的Ace、Chao、Simpson指数均有...     

基于底质类型变化监测的2005—2018年西沙永乐群岛珊瑚礁白化分析

在海洋环境变化和人类活动的双重影响下,我国珊瑚礁白化现象日趋严重,珊瑚礁健康状况、珊瑚种群数量和丰富度呈逐年下降的趋势。本文基于2005-2007年QuickBird卫星影像、2011-2012年QuickBird/WorldView-2卫星影像和2016-2018年GF-1/2卫星影像等3期高分辨率遥感数据,以西沙永乐群岛羚羊礁、中建岛等14个岛礁为研究区（以下统称永乐群岛）,利用支持向量机（support vector machine,SVM）分类方法结合人机交互信息提取方法完成了3期永乐群岛的珊瑚礁底质类型分类,并通过珊瑚礁底质类型变化分析了永乐群岛珊瑚礁白化特征。主要结论包括：（1）提出了一种珊瑚礁白化程度分级的方法,将永乐群岛白化状况分为轻度、中度、重度和严重白化4个等级,通过分析发现在监测时段内14个岛礁中有13个发生了不同程度的白化,其中10个发生了重度白化（白化率20%以上）,1个严重白化（羚羊礁,白化率为33.36%）;（2）根据监测数据统计,上述珊瑚岛礁的白化主要是由珊瑚丛生区白化引起的,2005-2018年永乐群岛珊瑚丛生区白化面积占总的发生白化区域面积的70.55%;（3）14个岛礁中只有甘泉岛的活珊瑚覆盖在逐渐增加,活珊瑚覆盖面积由2006年5月10日的87.13 hm²增加到2018年3月7日的107.80 hm²。     

青岛市雾天细菌气溶胶群落结构特征及健康风险

本文于2020年7—9月采集雾天和晴天生物气溶胶样品,利用高通量测序和BugBase基因功能预测,评估了雾天细菌气溶胶群落特征及潜在健康风险.结果表明,雾天可操作分类单元(OTUs)、物种多样性及丰富度均低于晴天,组内亲缘复杂度高于晴天.罗尔斯通氏菌、短杆菌、丙酸菌和短波单胞菌是雾天优势细菌属,雾天微生物几乎来源于本土...     

鬼手海葵(Aiptasia pulchella)白化恢复后的基因表达差异

海葵白化是由于海葵失去体内共生的虫黄藻和(或)共生的虫黄藻失去体内色素而导致海葵变白的生态现象。为探究鬼手海葵(Aiptasia pulchella)白化和白化恢复后相关的分子机制, 本研究对海葵进行慢性热胁迫处理, 以白化海葵和白化恢复后的海葵为研究对象, 采用2代IIlumina Hi-seq测序技术进行转录组测序, 探究两者在基因表达水平方面的差异变化, 分别获得50109686和43163786条Clean reads, 注释后获得24565和24157个Unigene。比较转录组分析结果显示, 白化海葵与白化恢复后的海葵之间存在214个差异表达基因, 其中白化海葵的高表达基因有101个, 白化恢复后海葵的高表达基因有113个, 这些差异表达基因主要与DNA复制、新陈代谢、离子转运和胶原蛋白有关。对不同处理所涉及的全部28050个表达基因进行基因集富集分析(gene set enrichment analysis, GSEA), 结果发现, 白化海葵在胶原蛋白和离子转运方面显著富集表达, 白化恢复后的海葵在核酸修复方面显著富集表达, 推测这些生物学过程在海葵白化和白化后修复过程中发挥重要作用。本研究获得的转录组数据和研究结果初步揭示了海葵共生体系在共生失衡后进行适应性调节的分子机制, 为海葵及珊瑚共生体系应对环境变化的适应性机制研究提供了理论依据。     

珊瑚共生虫黄藻密度的季节变化及其与珊瑚白化的关系——以大亚湾石珊瑚为例

定量分析了2006年6月、2007年8月和2008年2月采自南海北部大亚湾海域的共8科、13属、23种170个石珊瑚样品的共生虫黄藻密度,探讨了石珊瑚共生虫黄藻密度的季节变化及其与珊瑚白化的关系.结果显示,所有珊瑚种属的共生虫黄藻密度都显示出明显的季节性波动,总体上夏季低、冬季高(约为夏季的2倍),是海表水温和太阳辐射协同作用的结果.夏季大规模的珊瑚白化(热白化)可能是珊瑚共生虫黄藻密度逐渐降低(排出)到一定阈值的外观表征,而非突发的生态现象;冬季珊瑚白化(冷白化)则可能是极端低温直接致珊瑚死亡,进而快速排出虫黄藻的突发现象;高共生虫黄藻密度对冬季低温乃至极端低温条件下的珊瑚生存起到一定的保护作用.     

福建厦门湾和东山湾海域柳珊瑚的物种多样性及其分布

2005年7月，分别对福建厦门湾和东山湾海域柳珊瑚进行了调查，厦门湾共得到柳珊瑚9种，分别属于4科7属，东山湾共得到柳珊瑚8种；其中中国新记录属两个，冷柳珊瑚属（Iciligorgia）和弱柳珊瑚属（Leptogorgia）．根据柳珊瑚群体颜色及骨针的形态学特征系统地阐述了福建厦门湾和东山湾海域柳珊瑚的系统分类关系．研究表明厦门湾和东山湾柳珊瑚在物种多样性和个体大小方面较为相似，在较强海流的海域柳珊瑚生长较好，资源量也比较丰富．本研究结合国际上最新的柳珊瑚分类系统。对国内原有的分类系统做了修订．     

两种造礁石珊瑚共生藻分子系统分类及其对水温升高的响应研究

珊瑚白化是导致全球珊瑚礁生态系统衰退的最重要原因之一,野外观察结果表明不同种属的造礁石珊瑚对于海水温度升高的耐受性有所差异.选取多孔鹿角珊瑚(Acropora millepora)和丛生盔形珊瑚(Galaxea fascicularis)为研究对象,比较其共生藻在温度升高时的光生理差异.对多孔鹿角珊瑚和丛生盔形珊瑚共生藻的分子系统学研究结果表明:多孔鹿角珊瑚和丛生盔形珊瑚的共生藻属于不同系群,丛生盔形珊瑚共生藻属于D系群,而多孔鹿角珊瑚共生藻属于C1亚系群.当温度升高到30℃时并未对两种造礁石珊瑚共生藻光合系统Ⅱ造成损害,而当温度升高到34℃时两种造礁石珊瑚共生藻的F_v/F_m值急剧下降,其光合系统Ⅱ遭受损害.多孔鹿角珊瑚和丛生盔形珊瑚分别与不同系群的共生藻共生可能是导致其对海水温度升高耐受性不同的主要原因,与C1亚系群共生藻共生的多孔鹿角珊瑚对水温升高敏感,容易白化,而与D系群共生藻共生的丛生盔形珊瑚对水温升高的耐受性强,不易白化.     

Climate change and coral reef bleaching: An ecological assessment of long-term impacts,recovery trends and future outlook

Since the early 1980s, episodes of coral reef bleaching and mortality, due primarily to climate-induced ocean warming, have occurred almost annually in one or more of the world's tropical or subtropical seas. Bleaching is episodic, with the most severe events typically accompanying coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which result in sustained regional elevations of ocean temperature. Using this extended dataset (25+ years), we review the short- and long-term ecological impacts of coral bleaching on reef ecosystems, and quantitatively synthesize recovery data worldwide. Bleaching episodes have resulted in catastrophic loss of coral cover in some locations, and have changed coral community structure in many others, with a potentially critical influence on the maintenance of biodiversity in the marine tropics. Bleaching has also set the stage for other declines in reef health, such as increases in coral diseases, the breakdown of reef framework by bioeroders, and the loss of critical habitat for associated reef fishes and other biota. Secondary ecological effects, such as the concentration of predators on remnant surviving coral populations, have also accelerated the pace of decline in some areas. Although bleaching severity and recovery have been variable across all spatial scales, some reefs have experienced relatively rapid recovery from severe bleaching impacts. There has been a significant overall recovery of coral cover in the Indian Ocean, where many reefs were devastated by a single large bleaching event in 1998. In contrast, coral cover on western Atlantic reefs has generally continued to decline in response to multiple smaller bleaching events and a diverse set of chronic secondary stressors. No clear trends are apparent in the eastern Pacific, the central-southern-western Pacific or the Arabian Gulf, where some reefs are recovering and others are not. The majority of survivors and new recruits on regenerating and recovering coral reefs have originated from broadcast spawning taxa with a potential for asexual growth, relatively long distance dispersal, successful settlement, rapid growth and a capacity for framework construction. Whether or not affected reefs can continue to function as before will depend on: (1) how much coral cover is lost, and which species are locally extirpated; (2) the ability of remnant and recovering coral communities to adapt or acclimatize to higher temperatures and other climatic factors such as reductions in aragonite saturation state; (3) the changing balance between reef accumulation and bioerosion; and (4) our ability to maintain ecosystem resilience by restoring healthy levels of herbivory, macroalgal cover, and coral recruitment. Bleaching disturbances are likely to become a chronic stress in many reef areas in the coming decades, and coral communities, if they cannot recover quickly enough, are likely to be reduced to their most hardy or adaptable constituents. Some degraded reefs may already be approaching this ecological asymptote, although to date there have not been any global extinctions of individual coral species as a result of bleaching events. Since human populations inhabiting tropical coastal areas derive great value from coral reefs, the degradation of these ecosystems as a result of coral bleaching and its associated impacts is of considerable societal, as well as biological concern. Coral reef conservation strategies now recognize climate change as a principal threat, and are engaged in efforts to allocate conservation activity according to geographic-, taxonomic-, and habitat-specific priorities to maximize coral reef survival. Efforts to forecast and monitor bleaching, involving both remote sensed observations and coupled ocean–atmosphere climate models, are also underway. In addition to these efforts, attempts to minimize and mitigate bleaching impacts on reefs are immediately required. If significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved within the next two to three decades, maximizing coral survivorship during this time may be critical to ensuring healthy reefs can recover in the long term.     

Monitoring of coral communities in the inner Gulf of Thailand influenced by the elevated seawater temperature and flooding

There were two severe coral bleaching events at Ko Khang Khao, the inner Gulf of Thailand, occurred during the prolonged period of the elevated sea surface temperature (SST) in 2010 and low salinity as well as turbidity due to heavy flooding in 2011. The bleaching index (BI) and mortality index (MI) are calculated to compare the susceptibilities of coral species in the two bleaching events. The BI and MI vary significantly among the study sites and bleaching events. The most susceptible corals during both bleaching events are Acropora millepora, Pocillopora damicornis and Pavona decussate, while the most resistant species were Galaxea fascicularis, Fungia fungites, Pavona frondifera, Oulastrea crispate, and Symphyllia recta. The corals Favia favus, Goniopora columna, Platygyra pini, Symphyllia agaricia were relatively more tolerant to high SST but they are relatively more susceptible to low salinity. Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that the dissociation stress of the symbiotic relationship between zooxanthellae and their cnidarian host results in the reduction in photosynthetic pigment concentration. Among stressors, both prolonged exposure of high SST and low salinity, above and below their thresholds, respectively. The long-term resilience of coral communities at Ko Khang Khao and other coral communities close to the mouth of large rivers may depend on the frequency and duration of the exposure on the elevated SST due to atmospheric heating and low salinity due to river flooding.     

Physiological response to high temperature in the Tropical Eastern Pacific coral Pocillopora verrucosa

The ecological and economic values of coral reef communities have encouraged efforts to implement periodic visual survey programs to secure their conservation. To date, visual monitoring‐based approaches have detected bleaching events weeks or months after the initial onset. An evaluation of the stress response of coral colonies, as well as their ability to resist and recover from the stress events, may increase our understanding of the physiological processes underling the stress and/or acclimation responses. Coral bleaching events, caused primarily by abnormally high temperatures, are continuously affecting coral communities worldwide. To evaluate the stress and recovery responses of the reef‐building coral Pocillopora verrucosa, a laboratory study was conducted herein. Coral nubbins were exposed to high temperatures to induce bleaching, and their ability to resist and recover from bleaching was subsequently monitored after returning the corals to ambient temperature. Lipid and chlorophyll concentrations, as well as Symbiodinium spp. density, decreased in samples exposed to nearly 31°C, slowly recovering to near‐control levels upon return to non‐stressful conditions. The present data set allows for an assessment of the vulnerability and ability of this common species to resist sub‐optimal environmental conditions, particularly the thermal stress events that will occur more commonly in their habitats as global seawater temperatures continue to rise.     

Development of symbiosis-specific genes as biomarkers for the early detection of cnidarian-algal symbiosis breakdown

Coral bleaching, i.e. the loss of dinoflagellate symbionts from cnidarian hosts, is occurring globally at increasing rates, scales, and severity. The significance of these bleaching events to the health of coral reef ecosystems is extreme, as bleached corals exhibit high mortality, reduced fecundity and productivity and increased susceptibility to disease. This decreased coral fitness leads to reef degradation and ultimately to the breakdown of the coral reef ecosystem. To date there has been little work describing the application of biomarkers to assess coral health. The most commonly applied biomarker is, in fact, the bleaching event itself. We are interested in developing early warning biomarkers that can detect coral stress before bleaching occurs. Recently, several genes that are likely to function in regulating interactions between cnidarians and their symbionts have been characterized, using the temperate sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima as a model species. One "symbiosis gene" identified from the host genome, sym32, is expressed as a function of anemone symbiotic-state, where sym32 expression is higher in symbiotic cf. aposymbiotic (symbiont-free) anemones. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR suggested that the level of sym32 expression was correlated with the abundance of algae in the host. Furthermore, laboratory exposures of anemones to low levels of cadmium (0, 20, 100 microg(-1) CdCl2; 14 days), which caused no change in algal cell numbers, resulted in a down-regulation of sym32 compared to controls, indicating that sym32 expression may serve as a new sensitive early warning biomarker of cnidarian-algal symbiosis breakdown.     

厚壳贻贝(Mytilus coruscus)养殖区沉积物微生物多样性及固碳潜力研究

海洋蓝碳是海洋碳汇研究的重要领域,厘清不同蓝碳生境中沉积物有机碳组分格局是当前研究的热点之一。为更好地理解此问题,现以近海厚壳贻贝养殖区这一特殊蓝碳生境为对象,解析沉积物中的碳氮组分格局;进一步通过关联沉积物微生物群落、结合卡尔文循环和还原三羧酸循环的关键基因相对丰度分析,评估厚壳贻贝养殖区沉积物的固碳潜力。结果表明,相较于非养殖区,厚壳贻贝养殖区沉积物惰性碳的累积较大,氮组分主要以氨氮形式存在;同时养殖区高微生物量碳和微生物量氮指示了其沉积物中碳周转较快,碳氮组分特征差异明显。沉积物微生物高通量测序结果显示养殖区沉积物微生物主要以Gamma变形菌纲和Delta变形菌纲为主,且微生物类群与颗粒有机碳、惰性碳等碳组分存在明显的相关性。与惰性碳存在明显正相关关系的硫微螺菌科(Thiomicrospiraceae)丰度在养殖区沉积物中显著高于非养殖区沉积物。贻贝养殖区沉积物包含cbbL在内的6种关键功能基因,固碳潜力明显。研究结果将为进一步探究蓝碳生境的有机碳来源和微生物固碳效率提供基础依据。     

Reef status in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll,Maldives) five years before the mass mortality event of 1998

The Maldives was severely hit by massive coral bleaching and subsequent mortality in 1998. The results of reef monitoring in the following years have supported contrasting views about their recovery potential, partly because of the scarcity of information on the situation before 1998. Quantitative data on coral assemblages collected in 1993 in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll) may provide a base-line for the evaluation of the present status of the Maldivian reefs. Five years before the 1998 mortality, most coral communities appeared to be similar, in terms of both coral cover and growth-form composition, to those described in 1958 and 1964, notwithstanding increased human pressure and local events such as minor bleaching episodes in 1987 and crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) attacks in 1989. Three lessons can be learnt from these results to help to understand the present situation, some ten years after the 1998 mass mortality. First, Maldivian reefs proved in the past to be capable of maintaining flourishing coral life despite various disturbances. Second, four years had been sufficient for complete reef recovery after a (minor) bleaching event. Third, recovery after both COTS attack and bleaching follows a predictable path suggesting that the presence of a three-dimensional community structure, which should reduce post settlement mortality of coral recruits, is essential for rapid coral recovery. As coral recruitment remains high and large tabular Acropora colonies are now reappearing, it is expected that Maldivian reefs should return to their original condition within the next few years.     

The northernmost coral frontier of the Maldives: The coral reefs of Ihavandippolu Atoll under long-term environmental change

Ihavandippolu, the northernmost atoll of the Maldives, experienced severe coral bleaching and mortality in 1998 followed by several bleaching episodes in the last decade. Coral cover in the 11 study sites surveyed in July–December of 2011 in the 3–5 m depth range varied from 1.7 to 51%. Reefs of the islands located in the center of Ihavandippolu lagoon have exhibited a very low coral recovery since 1998 and remain mostly degraded 12 years after the impact. At the same time, some reefs, especially in the inner part of the eastern ring of the atoll, demonstrate a high coral cover (>40%) with a dominance of branching Acropora that is known to be one of the coral genera that is most susceptible to thermal stress. The last severe bleaching event in 2010 resulted in high coral mortality in some sites of the atoll. Differences in coral mortality rates and proportion between “susceptible” and “resistant” taxa in study sites are apparently related to long-term adaptation and local hydrological features that can mitigate thermal impacts. Abundant herbivorous fish observed in the atoll prevent coral overgrowth by macroalgae even on degraded reefs. Despite the frequent influence of temperature anomalies and having less geomorphologic refuges for coral survivals than other larger Maldivian atolls, a major part of observed coral communities in Ihavandippolu Atoll exhibits high resilience and potential for further acclimatization to a changing environment.