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

自然和人为的力量都影响珊瑚礁（如飓风和污染）。世界上大约27%的珊瑚礁已经基本上消失了，另外32%的珊瑚礁目前被认为受到威胁。如果这些趋势得不到缓解，未来26年，全球可能存活的珊瑚礁将不到一半。任何生态系统的生态健康都依赖于成虫的持久性和成功的招募。珊瑚群落是珊瑚礁的基础，可能是珊瑚礁系统健康和持久的关键。虽然有一些关于珊瑚礁生态和种群连通性的信息，但对基本过程的明确共识认识尚未出现。研究者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亲缘关系；2)将这些结果作为研究人员联盟的成核力，这些研究人员对评估遗传特征珊瑚礁的微空间物理、环境和个体生理方面感兴趣。通过将这些数据以GIS格式结合起来，研究者希望开始阐明个体间在白化、疾病和存活率方面差异的潜在原因。SGER的支持是适当的，因为以前没有尝试过对珊瑚礁上的每一个珊瑚物种进行测绘和测量，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在很大程度上还处于起步阶段，这使得该项目具有明显的探索性。这项研究所产生的数据也可能鼓励发展新的空间统计，使分析比目前更深入。这个项目的新颖性可能会导致海洋生物学、种群遗传学、地理信息系统和保护领域的进步。更广泛的影响包括对研究生的培训，以及为来自未被充分代表的少数民族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.