SGER: Micro-Spatial Scale Assessment of the Genetic Architecture of Coral Reefs

自然和人为力量都影响珊瑚礁(例如，飓风和污染)。世界上大约27%的珊瑚礁基本上已经消失，紧随其后的是目前被认为受到威胁的另外32%的珊瑚礁。如果这些趋势不减弱，全球不到一半的珊瑚礁可能会在接下来的26年里存活下来。任何生态系统的生态健康都有赖于成虫的坚持不懈和成功的招募。珊瑚礁群是珊瑚礁的基础，很可能是珊瑚礁系统健康和持久发展的关键。尽管有一些关于珊瑚礁生态和种群连通性的信息，但尚未出现对基本过程的明确共识。调查员将在微观空间尺度上评估珊瑚礁，并以地理信息系统的形式整合物理和遗传数据。该项目支持两个主要目标：1)对斑块珊瑚礁上两个物种的每个个体进行基因分型，以评估微空间尺度上的相关性；2)将这些结果用作研究人员联盟的核心力量，这些研究人员有兴趣评估具有遗传特征的珊瑚礁的微空间物理、环境和个人生理方面。通过将这些数据组合成地理信息系统的格式，研究人员希望开始阐明漂白、疾病和存活率方面个体之间差异的潜在原因。SGER的支助是适当的，因为以前从未尝试过对珊瑚礁上珊瑚物种的每一个个体进行测绘和测量，因此很难预测完成这项任务所需的工作量。此外，地理信息系统在海洋系统中的应用还处于初级阶段，这使得这个项目显然是探索性的。这项研究产生的数据还可能鼓励开发新的空间统计数据，以便进行比目前更深入的分析。这个项目的新颖性可能会导致海洋生物学、种群遗传学、地理信息系统和环境保护等领域的进步。更广泛的影响包括对研究生的培训，以及为少数族裔的高中生提供参与研究活动的机会。

Both natural and anthropogenic forces impact coral reefs (e.g., hurricanes and pollution). Approximately 27% of the world's coral reefs already are essentially gone and will be followed by an additional 32% that currently are considered threatened. If these trends are not abated, less than half of the coral reefs globally are likely to survive the next 26 years. The ecological health of any ecosystem is dependent on the persistence of adults and successful recruitment. Coral colonies are the foundation of reefs and likely are a linchpin in the health and persistence of reef systems. Although some information is available on the ecology and population connectivity of coral reefs, a clear consensus understanding of fundamental processes has not emerged. The investigator will assess coral reefs at the micro spatial-scale and integrate physical and genetic data in a GIS format. The project supports two primary goals: 1) to genotype every individual of two species on a patch reef to assess relatedness at a micro-spatial scale and 2) to use these results as a nucleating force for a consortium of researchers interested in assessing the micro-spatial physical, environmental, and individual physiological aspects of the genetically characterized reef. By combining these data in a GIS format, the investigator hopes to begin to elucidate the underlying cause of individual-to-individual differences in bleaching, disease, and survivability. SGER support is appropriate because the mapping and surveying of every individual of a coral species on a reef has not previously been attempted and therefore it is difficult to predict the amount of effort necessary to accomplish this task. In addition, the application of GIS to marine systems is very much in its infancy making this project clearly exploratory in nature. The data generated by this study also are likely to encourage the development of new spatial statistics allowing a greater depth of analysis than is currently available. The very novelty of this project may result in advancements in the fields of marine biology, population genetics, GIS, and conservation. The broader impacts include training for a graduate student and opportunities for high school students from underrepresented minorities to participate in research activities.