Caroline Palmer

• PhD
• Researcher at University of Plymouth

Phagocytosis is the cellular defense mechanism used to eliminate antigens derived from dysregulated or damaged cells, and microbial pathogens. Phagocytosis is therefore a pillar of innate immunity, whereby foreign particles are engulfed and degraded in lysolitic vesicles. In hexacorallians, phagocytic mechanisms are poorly understood, though putati...

Coral growth anomalies (GAs) are chronic diseases that adversely affect organism health and fitness. We investigated immunity and fecundity within and among GA-affected and visually healthy control colonies of the reef-building coral Acropora hyacinthus. Compared to controls, GAs had higher activity of the key immunity enzyme phenoloxidase (PO), su...

Corals are multipartite sedentary organisms, which have evolved complex, physiological networks in order to survive perturbations and environmental fluctuations. However, climate change is warming tropical waters, pushing the limits of coral tolerance and driving global declines. Coral susceptibility to thermal anomalies is variable among species a...

Climate change is killing coral at an unprecedented rate. As immune systems promote homeostasis and survival of adverse conditions I propose we explore coral health in the context of holobiont immunity. Immunity, purveyor of health Immune systems are the purveyors of homeostasis and orchestrators of relationships among hosts, mutualists, commensals...

Cnidarians comprise a diverse and phylogenetically basal phylum, some of which—such as scleractinian corals (Anthozoa)—are responsible for the formation and maintenance of ecosystems. Anthozoan immunology is a relatively new field, yet has great potential to inform invertebrate immunology, medicine, as well as coral reef conservation and restoratio...

High sedimentation rates have been linked to reduced coral health within multiple systems; however, whether this is a direct result of compromised coral immunity has not been previously investigated. The potential effects of sedimentation on immunity of the hard coral Montipora patula were examined by comparing physiological responses of coral frag...

Reef-building corals form bio-diverse marine ecosystems of high societal and economic value, but are in significant decline globally due, in part, to rapid climatic changes. As immunity is a predictor of coral disease and thermal stress susceptibility, a comprehensive understanding of this new field will likely provide a mechanistic explanation for...

As a determinant of survival, immunity is likely to be significant in enabling coral larvae to disperse and successfully recruit, however, whether reef-building coral larvae have immune defenses is unknown. We investigated the potential presence and variation in immunity in the lecithotrophic larvae of Acropora tenuis through larval development. En...

Coral reefs are threatened by increasing levels of coral disease and the functional loss of obligate algal symbionts (bleaching). Levels of immunity relate directly to susceptibility to these threats; however, our understanding of fundamental aspects of coral immunology is lacking. We show that three melanin-synthesis pathway components (mono-pheno...

Disease epizootics are increasing with climatic shifts, yet within each system only a subset of species are identified as the most vulnerable. Understanding ecological immunology patterns as well as environmental influences on immune defenses will provide insight into the persistence of a functional system through adverse conditions. Amongst the mo...

Temperature profile (°C) of Experiment 1. Blue line: shaded control system, red line: sun-exposed system. Colony fragments were placed into the treatment flow-through system on Day 1. The vertical line marks the time of sampling. (TIF)

Standard Q-Q plots of residuals from gene-wise linear mixed models on Experiment 2 data. Quantiles of the residuals from our most sample-rich experiment (Experiment 2, “stress-recovery”) were plotted against the theoretical quantiles of the normal distribution. The gene names are indicated above each plot. (TIF)

Chlorophyll a fluorescence, effective quantum yield (ΦPSII), of in hospite Symbiodinium during acclimation in Experiment 2. Mean ± standard deviation of both effective quantum yield and light measurements taken for each Porites astreoides (n = 15) in the control flow-through system. (TIF)

Temperature (°C) and light (Log10Lumens) profile of Experiment 2. Stress samples were taken at 14∶30 on 8/16. Recovery samples were taken at 14∶45 on 8/17. (TIF)

Evaluation of RNA quality among different preservation methods. Duplicate samples from a single colony of Porites astreoides were fixed in either 96% ethanol (E), RNAlater (R), or snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen (Ln) and stored at −20°C for five days. The various preservatives were also compared to RNA extracted from non-fixed tissue (F). RNA was ru...

Lonza Gel of RNA from samples used in experiment 2 (Stress-Recovery). RNA (orange bands) is from samples at the stress time point. DNA appears as yellow bands. It is important to note that 3 µl of sample was loaded, regardless of concentration, therefore some samples appear brighter due to higher RNA amount. Rows with the same number indicate two f...

Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to increased incidence of climate-induced coral bleaching, which will have widespread biodiversity and economic impacts. A simple method to measure the sub-bleaching level of heat-light stress experienced by corals would greatly inform reef management practices by making it possible to assess the distribution...

Sessile animals, like corals, frequently suffer physical injury from a variety of sources, thus wound-healing mechanisms that restore tissue integrity and prevent infection are vitally important for defence. Despite the ecological importance of reef-building corals, little is known about the cells and processes involved in wound healing in this gro...

The melanin-synthesis pathways, phenoloxidase (PO) and laccases, are staple components of invertebrate immunity and have been shown to be vital in disease resistance. The importance of this pathway in immunity is a consequence of the release of oxygen radicals with cytotoxic effects and the production of insoluble melanin, which aids in the encapsu...

In scleractinian (hard) corals, immune responses involving phenoloxidase (PO) activity are known to play a role in coral wound healing, but there have been no studies investigating their roles in mitigating either disease or bleaching in an Indo-Pacific coral. PO activity induces the release of reactive oxygen species leading to a cytotoxic cellula...

Coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on our planet. Scleractinian corals function as the primary reef ecosystem engineers, constructing the framework that serves as a habitat for all other coral reef-associated organisms. However, the coral’s engineering role is particularly susceptible to global climate change. Ocean wa...

Immunity is a key life history trait that may explain hierarchies in the susceptibility of corals to disease and thermal bleaching, two of the greatest current threats to coral health and the persistence of tropical reefs. Despite their ongoing and rapid global decline, there have been few investigations into the immunity mechanisms of reef-buildin...

I wrote this Australian Research Council Fellowship proposal on coral immunity in 2010. It was a direct continuation of my PhD. It wasn't funded despite favourable reviews, however much of the proposed work was conducted by other scientists.

A wide array of fluorescent proteins (FP) is present in anthozoans, although their biochemical characteristics and function in host tissue remain to be determined. Upregulation of FP's frequently occurs in injured or compromised coral tissue, suggesting a potential role of coral FPs in host stress responses. The presence of FPs was determined and q...

Reports of coral disease have increased dramatically over the last decade; however, the biological mechanisms that corals utilize to limit infection and resist disease remain poorly understood. Compromised coral tissues often display non-normal pigmentation that potentially represents an inflammation-like response, although these pigments remain un...

Reports of coral disease have increased dramatically over the last decade; however, the biological mechanisms that corals utilize to limit infection and resist disease remain poorly understood. Compromised coral tissues often display non-normal pigmentation that potentially represents an inflammation-like response, although these pigments remain un...

Increasing evidence of links between climate change, anthropogenic stress and coral disease underscores the importance of understanding the mechanisms by which reef-building corals resist infection and recover from injury. Cellular inflammation and melanin-producing signalling pathway are two mechanisms employed by invertebrates to remove foreign o...