Ubiquitous associations and a peak fall prevalence between apicomplexan symbionts and reef corals in Florida and the Bahamas

Although apicomplexans are a widely recog- nized and important parasitic group, little is known about those associated with invertebrates, such as reef-building scleractinian corals. To resolve the potential impact of api- complexans on coral health, it is first necessary to further describe this group of putative parasites and determine their prevalence among host species. Here, it was hypothesized that apicomplexan prevalence would vary seasonally, simi- lar to what occurs in other marine apicomplexans as well as some coral symbionts. To test this, Caribbean scleractinian species Porites astreoides, Montastraea (=Orbicella) annu- laris, M.( =O.) faveolata ,a ndSiderastrea siderea were sampled seasonally from two reefs each in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas for 9- and 5.5-year periods, respectively. Utilizing a PCR-based screening assay, apicomplexan DNA was detected from most Floridian (80.1 %: n = 555/693) and Bahamian (90.7 %: n = 311/343) coral tissue samples collected over these multi-year periods. Furthermore, api- complexan DNA was detected from nearly all (98.7 %: n = 78/79) single polyps sampled at multiple locations within six M. faveolata colonies, indicating little to no in- tracolonial variation in the screening assay. Mixed-model logistic regression was utilized to determine the effects of season, host species, and reef on apicomplexan prevalence. The model identified a significant seasonal effect, with the highest apicomplexan prevalence occurring during fall. There also was a large effect of host species, with apicom- plexan prevalence significantly lower among S. siderea colonies relative to the other species. While reef did not have a significant effect in the full model, there was a sig- nificant difference in apicomplexan prevalence between Floridian and Bahamian reefs for S. siderea, implying regional differences in this host species. Despite seasonal and species-specific differences in prevalence, apicomplex- ans are ubiquitous constituents of these particular sclerac- tinian coral species from Florida and the Bahamas.