Genetic connectivity, adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity of corals and anemones under thermal stress

Under global climate change, our oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate. Increased temperatures represent a severe source of stress for many marine organisms. This thesis aims to understand how corals and anemones respond to changing temperatures across different timescales and investigates mechanisms that can facilitate persistence in light of environmental change, from selection and adaptation across generations to phenotypic plasticity within a single individual's lifespan. In this context, I explore three case studies of thermal stress in corals and anemones. I begin with massive Porites lobata corals from the central Pacific. Here, reefs that are most affected by El Niflo, such as Jarvis and the northeast Phoenix Islands maintain genetic diversity indicating recruitment from nearby reefs may occur. Yet, they show significant genetic differentiation (FsT) from farther areas, suggesting this dispersal may be limited.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Rivera, Hanny Elizabeth.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ann M. Tarrant.

• Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.
• Civil and Environmental Engineering.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122327

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/122327