Building a queer- and trans-inclusive microbiology conference.

Microbiology conferences can be powerful places to build collaborations and exchange ideas, but for queer and transgender (trans) scientists, they can also become sources of alienation and isolation. Many conference organizers would like to create welcoming and inclusive events but feel ill-equipped to make this vision a reality, and a historical lack of representation of queer and trans folks in microbiology means we rarely occupy these key leadership roles ourselves. Looking more broadly, queer and trans scientists are systematically marginalized across scientific fields, leading to disparities in career outcomes, professional networks, and opportunities, as well as the loss of unique scientific perspectives at all levels. For queer and trans folks with multiple, intersecting, marginalized identities, these barriers often become even more severe. Here, we draw from our experiences as early-career microbiologists to provide concrete, practical advice to help conference organizers across research communities design inclusive, safe, and welcoming conferences, where queer and trans scientists can flourish.

Single-polyp metabolomics reveals biochemical structuring of the coral holobiont at multiple scales.

All biology happens in space, and spatial structuring plays an important role in mediating biological processes at all scales from cells to ecosystems. However, the metabolomic structuring of the coral holobiont has yet to be fully explored. Here, we present a method to detect high-quality metabolomic data from individual coral polyps and apply this method to study the patterning of biochemicals across multiple spatial (~1 mm - ~100 m) and organizational scales (polyp to population). The data show a strong signature for individual coral colonies, a weaker signature of branches within colonies, and variation at the polyp level related to the polyps' location along a branch. Mapping metabolites to either the coral or algal components of the holobiont reveals that polyp-level variation along the length of a branch was largely driven by molecules associated with the cnidarian host as opposed to the algal symbiont, predominantly putative sulfur-containing metabolites. This work yields insights on the spatial structuring of biochemicals in the coral holobiont, which is critical for design, analysis, and interpretation of studies on coral reef biochemistry.

Centering Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Experience, Access, & Safety in Ecological Fieldwork.

Efforts to make ecological sciences more diverse, equitable, and inclusive require us to identify who is being left out and take action to rectify harmful situations. Recruitment of trainees from underrepresented groups alone is insufficient without ensuring a safe and supportive environment where we can flourish. Fieldwork is a critical component and often a requirement for career advancement in ecological sciences, but for transgender and gender non-conforming (TGnC) individuals, it can be disproportionately harmful. TGnC individuals face barriers and gendered violence before, during, and after fieldwork, and our experiences are often lost in current discussions of underrepresented groups in the field. In this article, I discuss the importance of an intersectional framework that focuses on planning, open communication, and trust, to address both the barriers TGnC trainees' experience with travel, accommodations, and access to medical care, along with their experiences of perceived and actual violence by colleagues and strangers. Additionally, I propose direct actions that those in power, such as Principal Investigators, field station managers, and mentors, can take to ensure a safe and welcoming fieldwork environment that supports TGnC trainees' physical, emotional, and professional well-being.

Temperature-mediated acquisition of rare heterologous symbionts promotes survival of coral larvae under ocean warming.

Reef-building corals form nutritional symbioses with endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodiniaceae), a relationship that facilitates the ecological success of coral reefs. These symbionts are mostly acquired anew each generation from the environment during early life stages ("horizontal transmission"). Symbiodiniaceae species exhibit trait variation that directly impacts the health and performance of the coral host under ocean warming. Here, we test the capacity for larvae of a horizontally transmitting coral, Acropora tenuis, to establish symbioses with Symbiodiniaceae species in four genera that have varying thermal thresholds (the common symbiont genera, Cladocopium and Durusdinium, and the less common Fugacium and Gerakladium). Over a 2-week period in January 2018, a series of both no-choice and four-way choice experiments were conducted at three temperatures (27, 30, and 31°C). Symbiont acquisition success and cell proliferation were measured in individual larvae. Larvae successfully acquired and maintained symbionts of all four genera in no-choice experiments, and >80% of larvae were infected with at least three genera when offered a four-way choice. Unexpectedly, Gerakladium symbionts increased in dominance over time, and at high temperatures outcompeted Durusdinium, which is regarded as thermally tolerant. Although Fugacium displayed the highest thermal tolerance in culture and reached similar cell densities to the other three symbionts at 31°C, it remained a background symbiont in choice experiments, suggesting host preference for other symbiont species. Larval survivorship at 1 week was highest in larvae associated with Gerakladium and Fugacium symbionts at 27 and 30°C, however at 31°C, mortality was similar for all treatments. We hypothesize that symbionts that are currently rare in corals (e.g., Gerakladium) may become more common and widespread in early life stages under climate warming. Uptake of such symbionts may function as a survival strategy in the wild, and has implications for reef restoration practices that use sexually produced coral stock.

Coral bleaching response is unaltered following acclimatization to reefs with distinct environmental conditions.

Urgent action is needed to prevent the demise of coral reefs as the climate crisis leads to an increasingly warmer and more acidic ocean. Propagating climate change-resistant corals to restore degraded reefs is one promising strategy; however, empirical evidence is needed to determine whether stress resistance is affected by transplantation beyond a coral's native reef. Here, we assessed the performance of bleaching-resistant individuals of two coral species following reciprocal transplantation between reefs with distinct pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, sedimentation, and flow dynamics to determine whether heat stress response is altered following coral exposure to novel physicochemical conditions in situ. Critically, transplantation had no influence on coral heat stress responses, indicating that this trait was relatively fixed. In contrast, growth was highly plastic, and native performance was not predictive of performance in the novel environment. Coral metabolic rates and overall fitness were higher at the reef with higher flow, salinity, sedimentation, and diel fluctuations of pH and dissolved oxygen, and did not differ between native and cross-transplanted corals, indicating acclimatization via plasticity within just 3 mo. Conversely, cross-transplants at the second reef had higher fitness than native corals, thus increasing the fitness potential of the recipient population. This experiment was conducted during a nonbleaching year, so the potential benefits to recipient population fitness are likely enhanced during bleaching years. In summary, this study demonstrates that outplanting bleaching-resistant corals is a promising tool for elevating the resistance of coral populations to ocean warming.

A Field Primer for Monitoring Benthic Ecosystems using Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry.

Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry is a technique used to generate three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions from a sequence of two-dimensional (2D) images. SfM methods are becoming increasingly popular as a noninvasive way to monitor many systems, including anthropogenic and natural landscapes, geologic structures, and both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Here, a detailed protocol is provided for collecting SfM imagery to generate 3D models of benthic habitats. Additionally, the cost, time efficiency, and output quality of employing a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera versus a less expensive action camera have been compared. A tradeoff between computational time and resolution was observed, with the DSLR camera producing models with more than twice the resolution, but taking approximately 1.4-times longer to produce than the action camera. This primer aims to provide a thorough description of the steps necessary to collect SfM data in benthic habitats for those who are unfamiliar with the technique as well as for those already using similar methods.

Glossing over cryptic species: Descriptions of four new species of Glossodoris and three new species of Doriprismatica (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae).

Advances in molecular systematics have led to a rapid increase in the identification of cryptic and pseudocryptic species in organisms exhibiting diverse and complex coloration with complicated taxonomic histories. A recent molecular phylogenetic analysis of nudibranchs in the genus Glossodoris (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Chromodorididae) and related genera identifies multiple cryptic and pseudocryptic species complexes, one within Glossodoris pallida and three within Glossodoris cincta, and support for three new species of Doriprismatica. Morphological analyses of color pattern, radular structure, buccal mass, and reproductive system support these identifications. Descriptions for Glossodoris buko sp. nov., Glossodoris bonwanga sp. nov., Glossodoris andersonae sp. nov., Glossodoris acosti sp. nov., and what will retain the name Glossodoris sp. cf. cincta are provided here, in addition to descriptions for new species Doriprismatica balut sp. nov., Doriprismatica rossi sp. nov., and Doriprismatica marinae sp. nov.. Glossodoris pallida and G. buko exhibit extreme differences in radular structure in addition to a clear biogeographic split in range. Glossodoris bonwanga, G. andersonae, G. acosti and G. sp. cf. cincta, share morphological and geographic differences but these are not as pronounced as in G. pallida and G. buko. More detailed study of the G. cincta complex is necessary to resolve some remaining systematic challenges. Doriprismatica balut is clearly distinct from all other congeners based on molecular and morphological characters. In contrast, D. rossi and D. marinae are not strongly divergent genetically, but have major morphological divergences that clearly distinguish them.

Molecular phylogeny of Glossodoris (Ehrenberg, 1831) nudibranchs and related genera reveals cryptic and pseudocryptic species complexes.

Chromodorid nudibranchs (Chromodorididae) are brightly coloured sea slugs that live in some of the most biodiverse and threatened coral reefs on the planet. However, the evolutionary relationships within this family have not been well understood, especially in the genus Glossodoris. Members of Glossodoris have experienced large-scale taxonomic instability over the last century and have been the subject of repeated taxonomic changes, in part due to morphological characters being the sole traditional taxonomic sources of data. Changing concepts of traditional generic boundaries based on morphology also have contributed to this instability. Despite recent advances in molecular systematics, many aspects of chromodorid taxonomy remain poorly understood, particularly at the traditional species and generic levels. In this study, 77 individuals comprising 32 previously defined species were used to build the most robust phylogenetic tree of Glossodoris and related genera using mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S, and the nuclear gene 28S. Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony analyses verify the most recent hypothesized evolutionary relationships within Glossodoris. Additionally, a pseudocryptic and cryptic species complex within Glossodoris cincta and a pseudocryptic complex within Glossodoris pallida emerged, and three new species of Doriprismatica are identified.