Glossary

Acclimation: The process of an individual organism adjusting to its environment

Adaptation via Natural Selection: Where organisms that possess heritable traits that enable them to better survive in their environment compared with other members of their species will be more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass more of their genes on to the next generation

Adaptive Gene Expression: Acclamatory changes to gene expression due to changes in the frequencies of gene regulatory variants or other DNA-based controls of gene expression

Aerosols: Particles suspended in air

Alkalinity: The capacity of water to buffer changes in pH, frequently occurring through the presence of calcium carbonate

Allee Effect: Reduced fitness caused by a low population density

Allele: A variant form of a gene at a particular locus on a chromosome

Aragonite: A form of calcium carbonate used by marine calcifiers (e.g., coral) to build skeletons

Aragonite Saturation State (Ω_a): The concentration of aragonite ions in seawater, influencing the ability for marine calcifiers to build their skeletons

Bleaching: A response by corals to stress that includes the ejection of symbiotic algae, resulting in a loss of color

Broodstock: Individuals held in facilities for breeding

Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃): A biologically important mineral found in rocks and dissolved in seawater used by calcifying organisms to build skeletons

Colony (coral): A group of genetically identical coral polyps

Community: The individuals of all species within a defined ecological area

Coral Gardening: The propagation of coral fragments in nurseries

CRISPR/Cas9: A gene-editing platform in which an endonuclease and a guide RNA are used to introduce double strand breaks at a specified location within the genome

Cultivation: Rearing of organisms in a controlled environment such as a nursery or a laboratory

Degree Heating Week: A coral bleaching susceptibility metric defined by the sum of excess degrees of heat over the number of weeks of exposure

Dinoflagellates: Single-celled algae from the phylum Dinoflagellata, including those symbiotic to coral

Dysbiosis: Disruption in the balance of a body’s microbiota

Epigenetic: Modifications to DNA that are not sequence-based but control gene expression

Fragmentation: Division of a coral colony into genetically identical pieces

Gamete: The sperm and eggs cells that fuse for fertilization

Gene: A segment of DNA that serves as the basic unit of heredity

Gene Drive: A system of biased inheritance in which the ability of a genetic element to pass from a parent to its offspring through sexual reproduction is enhanced

Gene Flow: The transfer of genetic information from one population into another population

Genetic Rescue: An increase in population fitness due to the introduction of new alleles

Genome: The complete sequence of DNA in an organism

Genotype: The traits of an organism defined by its genome

Heterosis: Increased fitness in offspring compared to the parents

Hormesis: Where a beneficial response is induced following the application of a low dose of a stressor that would be harmful at higher doses

Hybrid: The offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties

Macroalgae: Multicellular algae, frequently known as seaweed

Metabolomics: The study of metabolites—molecules used in metabolism

Microbiome: Microorganisms within a defined community including prokaryotes, fungi, viruses, and algae

Ocean Acidification: Reduction in the pH of the ocean caused by increasing concentration of CO₂

Ontogeny: The development of an organism from the time of fertilization to the adult form

Outbreeding Depression: A result of outcrossing where there is a loss of local adaptation or disruption of co-adapted gene complexes that led to a reduction in fitness

Outcrossing: Breeding of individuals that are not closely related to introduce genetic diversity

Phage: Viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria

Phenotype: The observable traits of an organism

Photo-oxidation: Chemical breakdown in the presence of oxygen caused by light

Physiological: Pertaining to an organism’s body parts and functions

Planula: A free-swimming larva characterized by a flattened, ciliated shape

Polyp (coral): The form of an individual coral animal and other cnidarians such as sea anemones

Population: All of the individuals of a given species within a defined ecological area

Propagule: Any form of an animal that acts as the basis for transmission to new areas

Proteomics: The study of proteins

Reactive Oxygen Species: Oxygenated molecules whose productive is increased in times of stress and may cause damage cells

Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP): Scenarios of future greenhouse gas concentration trajectories based on possible emissions and response options, developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Scleractinia: The taxonomic order of hard skeleton, reef-building corals

Selection: Differential survival and reproduction of organisms

Symbiodiniaceae: The taxonomic family of dinoflagellates symbiotic to coral

Symbiont: An organism living symbiotically with another, either as an endosymbiont (within the host’s cells) or an exosymbiont (outside of the host’s cells)

Transcriptomics: The study of transcriptomes, the RNA molecules in a cell

Unfolded Protein Response: A cellular response to the protein unfolding, which can occur as a result of environmental stress

Xanthophyll Cycling: A mechanisms in algae and plants for dissipating energy caused by light incidence to protect photosynthetic reaction centers

Zooxanthellae: Single-celled photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live symbiotically with marine organisms, including coral

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