1. METHODS Fig 1: Site classification based on SST parameters. Stars indicate survey and sampling sites. 1. Site ID 2. Coral Surveys 3. Symbiont genetics Extracted DNA from coral samples Amplified ITS-2 and sequenced Symbiont type identified to sub-clade level Surveyed sites using AGRRA 5 methodology Coral diversity, abundance, density, % cover, and species richness calculated Fig 3: gel of amplified ITS-2 bands. Caribbean coral communities decline in variable environments: can they survive in a changing climate? Baumann JH 1, Townsend JE 1, Aichelman HE 1, Courtney TA 1, Davies SW 1, Lima FP 2, and K.D. Castillo 1 1 Department of Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 2 CIBIO, University of Porto, Portugal INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND Tropical corals are colonial organisms that rely on symbiosis to survive. Corals are very sensitive to stress (such as rising temperature) 1,2. However, some corals cope with this stress better than others 3,4. Here we are studying the impacts of local stress (nutrients) and global stress (temperature) on coral communities in Belize. LITERATURE CITED 1. Hughes TP, Baird AH, Bellwood DR, Card M, Connolly SR, et al. (2003) Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs. Science 301: 929-933. 2. Hoegh-Guldberg O (2004) Coral Reefs in a Century of Rapid Environmental Change. Symbiosis 37: 1-31. 3. Oliver T, Palumbi S (2011) Do fluctuating temperature environments elevate coral thermal tolerance? Coral Reefs 30: 429-440. 4. Palumbi SR, Barshis DJ, Traylor-Knowles N, Bay RA (2014) Mechanisms of reef coral resistance to future climate change. Science 344: 895-898. 5. Ginsburg R, Lang J (2003) Status of coral reefs in the western Atlantic: Results of initial surveys, Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment(AGRRA) program. Atoll Research Bulletin 496. 6. Darling ES, Alvarez ‐ Filip L, Oliver TA, McClanahan TR, Côté IM (2012) Evaluating life ‐ history strategies of reef corals from species traits. Ecology Letters 15: 1378-1386. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Analyze Coral cores and correlate with temperature events (El Niño, etc…). Asses stress mechanisms of stress tolerance using a reciprocal transplant and/or common garden tank experiment. Generalist Stress Tolerant Weedy Competitive RESULTS Coral communities less diverse in more variable conditions Fig. 4: a.) Coral species richness across site types in Belize. B.) NMDS plot showing coral community differences between site types in Belize. Some life history strategies handle variation better than others Fig. 5: The four coral life history strategies as defined by Darling et al (2012) 6 and their distributions between three thermally distinct site types in Belize. Metabarcoding reveals species-specific symbiont communities Fig 6: Principal component analysis of symbiont communities present in each species. Fig 7: Symbiont types that change significantly with site type in S. siderea CONCLUSIONS Increasing temperature and variability correlate with decreasing coral community variables. Stress-tolerant and weedy corals are better equipped to survive in the future conditions Ext TP sites may harbor ecologically important species and warrant further protection. Symbiont communities are species-specific. “Heat tolerant” symbionts not present at Ext TP sites. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What impact does environmental variability have on coral and symbiont communities? How and why are some species more resilient to stressors? Fig 2: J. Baumann completes a survey. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Dan Hoer, Lauren Speare, and Logan Buie for lab assistance, UNC BRIC for CT scanning, and Casey Berger for coding and data analysis. I also thank my major funding sources: The Rufford foundation and The Department of Defense NDSEG. Calculated annual maximum temperature, days above the bleaching threshold, and annual temperature variability from sea surface temperature records. Used the above parameters to divided the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef into thermally distinct environments