Asymmetric depth acclimation and plasticity limit the refugial potential of mesophotic Porites astreoides

Mesophotic coral ecosystems have been proposed as climate refugia for shallow reefs, yet the capacity of mesophotic corals to persist across depth gradients remains unresolved. We conducted a long-term reciprocal transplantation of the Caribbean coral Porites astreoides between shallow (10 m) and mesophotic (40 m) reefs to assess physiological, skeletal, and transcriptomic plasticity. Depth, rather than season, was the primary driver of coral performance. Shallow colonies exhibited higher metabolic activity and calcification, whereas mesophotic colonies showed reduced protein content, slower skeletal extension, and elevated expression of skeletal organic matrix genes. Transplant responses were asymmetric: shallow-to-deep corals acclimated through coordinated physiological and transcriptional adjustments, while deep-to-shallow transplants experienced mortality and limited transcriptional reprogramming. Moderate genetic connectivity across depths suggests that performance differences arise primarily from phenotypic plasticity rather than fixed genetic divergence. Our findings indicate that shallow populations harbor greater acclimatory capacity, whereas mesophotic corals show constrained upward resilience, challenging the generality of deep reefs as refugia under rapid environmental change. TeaserAsymmetric plasticity limits the capacity of mesophotic corals to rejuvenate shallow reefs under climate change.