With shallow coral reefs suffering from an ongoing rapid decline in many regions of the world, the interest in studies on mesophotic coral ecosystems (30–150 m) is growing rapidly. While most photoacclimation responses in corals were documented within the upper 30 m of reefs, in the present study we transplanted fragments of a strictly mesophotic species from the Red Sea, Euphyllia paradivisa , from 50 m to 5 m for a period of 3 years. Following the retrieval of the corals, their physiological and photosynthetic properties of the corals were tested. The transplanted corals presented evidence of photosynthetic acclimation to the shallow habitat, lower sensitivity to photoinhibition, and a high survival percentage, while also demonstrating a reduced ability to utilize low light compared to their mesophotic counterparts. This long-term successful transplantation from a mesophotic depth to a shallow habitat has provided us with insights regarding the ability of mesophotic corals and their symbionts to survive and withstand shallow environments, dominated by a completely different light regime. The extensive characterization of the photobiology of E. paradivisa , and its photoacclimation response to a high-light environment also demonstrates the plasticity of corals and point out to mechanisms different than those reported previously in shallower corals.

中文翻译：

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中光珊瑚移植到浅水环境 3 年后的光生理学

随着世界许多地区浅层珊瑚礁持续快速减少，对中光珊瑚生态系统（30-150 m）研究的兴趣正在迅速增长。虽然珊瑚的大多数光适应反应记录在珊瑚礁的上层 30 m 内，但在本研究中，我们从 50 m 到 5 m 移植了来自红海的严格中光物种的碎片，Euphyllia paradivisa，为期 3 年。在回收珊瑚后，测试了珊瑚的生理和光合作用特性。移植的珊瑚提供了光合适应浅层栖息地的证据，对光抑制的敏感性较低，存活率较高，同时与中光珊瑚相比，利用弱光的能力也有所降低。这种从中光深度到浅层栖息地的长期成功移植为我们提供了关于中光珊瑚及其共生体在浅层环境中生存和承受由完全不同的光照制度主导的能力的见解。E. paradivisa 光生物学的广泛表征及其对高光环境的光适应反应也证明了珊瑚的可塑性，并指出了与先前在较浅珊瑚中报道的机制不同的机制。