Small-scale flow variability inside branched coral colonies: Computations and experimental verification

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Coral reefs have been identified as some of the most threatened marine ecosystems globally, ones whose management depends critically on scientific understanding. Flow-controlled mass transfer between corals and the fluid around them plays a key role in determining how corals live, grow, reproduce and die. The investigators will create a comprehensive physiochemical model of a given coral, i.e. a virtual coral, to examine the morphological plasticity in branching corals by determining changes in calcification rates driven by changes in mass transfer. The model will include detailed representations of flow and mass transfer, given the geometry of the coral, light field incident on the coral and the internal biochemistry of the polyps and zooxanthellae. Beyond examining the connection between morphological plasticity and flow, the model should also be capable of testing hypotheses relating flow, changes in nutrient, light level, or temperature to a wide range of responses including bleaching. The experiments and computations proposed by the researchers will provide a comprehensive model of corals at the level of an individual colony. The model will provide a valuable means for testing hypotheses on the interactions between corals and their environment.