[Stress responses of cryptic corals] - Thermal tolerance and photophysiology in cryptic porites lineages in Palau in 2022 (Collaborative Research: How do selection, plasticity, and dispersal interact to determine coral success in warmer and more variable environments?)

Coral colonies representing three genetically distinct lineages were collected from classic and extreme reef environments and fragmented for a 25-day common-garden heat challenge. Fragments were held in flow-through aquaria under control or elevated temperature regimes that simulated natural warming and acute heatwave conditions.

Photosystem II photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) was measured daily or semi-daily after dark acclimation to quantify symbiont photosynthetic stress. Bleaching was assessed from standardized photographs analyzed for changes in colony coloration (paling) through time, and fragment survival was monitored throughout the experiment. These data provide a high-resolution time series of physiological and demographic responses to heat stress, enabling comparisons of thermal tolerance among cryptic coral lineages that dominate extreme reef habitats.