Coral Sampling
In November 2015, adult and juvenile Acropora hyacinthus colonies were sampled from four separate sites on Yap Island (South Tip (9° 26′ 3.1992′′ N, 138° 2′ 13.9488′′ E) (n=48 juveniles, n=38 adults), West Outer Reef (9° 33′ 33.9336′′ N, 138° 5′ 22.1496′′ E) (n=38 juveniles, n=34 adults), Nimpal (9° 34′ 0.2496′′ N, 138° 5′ 50.1324′′ E) (n=35 juveniles, n=31 adults), Goofnuw Channel (9° 34′ 16.41′′ N, 138° 12′ 10.3284′′ E), (n=24 juveniles, n=33 adults) (Fig. 1A-C). At each reef site, all corals were collected within close proximity such that the collection area did not extend beyond an approximately 100 m radius.
Only juveniles were collected from South Tip during November 2015 as no adults were present on the reef following the crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak in 2010. Adult A. hyacinthus samples from the South Tip site (2009) were collected by Davies et al. a year prior to the outbreak (Davies, Treml, Kenkel, & Matz, 2015). The number of samples per age cohort and location are listed in the x-axis labels on Fig. 1 F.
Small branches 1-2 cm in length were removed from A. hyacinthus colonies using pliers and stored in 100% ethanol at -20° C until they could be processed to extract DNA. Juveniles were classified as individuals less than 20 cm in diameter and adults as individuals greater than 30 cm in diameter. The median diameter was 8.9 cm for juveniles and 60.2 cm for adults (Fig. 1 B, C).