Temporal stability of Symbiodinium phylotype in scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis from a tropical fringing reef in the South China Sea

Symbiodinium sp. occurs in a symbiotic association with various marine invertebrates, including the scleractinian corals. Understanding the flexibility and specificity in coral-algal symbiosis can have important implications for predicting the future of coral reefs in the era of global climate change. In the present study, we conducted Symbiodinium phylotype analysis, based on polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), in the scleractinian coral, Galaxea fascicularis, from a tropical fringing reef in Hainan Island, over a 1-yr period. Our results showed that Galaxea fascicularis could associate with Symbiodinium clade C and D either individually or simultaneously. However, during the sampling period, the Symbiodinium phylotype did not change significantly in the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis, although the seawater temperature decreased sharply in the winter season. This study further suggests that the shift in Symbiodinium communities in response to seasonally fluctuating environments might not be a universal feature of coral-algal associations.