OCE-PRF: The Use of Biological, Ecological and Genetic Observations as an Integrative Approach to Understand Coral Decline

在这个项目中，研究人员开发了一项综合研究，包括生态、形态、生化和遗传观察，以了解珊瑚对温度胁迫的个体反应。珊瑚死亡率增加和随后珊瑚礁生态系统的改变是对不断变化的环境条件的反应，包括大气二氧化碳增加、水温上升、疾病爆发、漂白和机会性病原体的直接和间接影响。在加勒比，这些自然影响的组合影响了几个珊瑚物种，其中包括Montastraea annularis物种复合体。被认为是加勒比海最重要的珊瑚属之一，这些物种受到疾病和漂白事件的影响。感染和环境影响因素显著减少了环状分枝杆菌的丰度。鉴于这些物种对热应激表现出局部特有的反应和不同的存活率，个体的基因组成可能对环境应激源和传染病提供不同程度的抗性/敏感性。因此，需要结合包括这些不同变量的观察来解决珊瑚对环境变化的反应中的关键问题。这项研究的更广泛影响包括为德克萨斯大学阿灵顿大学两个少数族裔服务项目的研究生和本科生提供指导。辅导活动涉及学生参与科学方法的方方面面，包括手稿准备。此外，研究人员还将加入参与地方和全州活动的赞助科学家的外联工作。调查人员还将与当地初中合作，并参加西班牙裔工程科学和技术会议，在会议上，学生们将被教授珊瑚礁知识，并参加关于珊瑚在健康的珊瑚礁生态系统中所起作用的互动研讨会。该项目得到美国国家科学基金会海洋科学博士后研究奖学金(OCE PRF)计划的支持，旨在支持早期职业科学家的创新研究，并增加美国海洋科学劳动力和研究社区的多样性。在海洋科学和可持续发展基金的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够从事与海洋科学有关的独立研究事业，并扩大未被充分代表的群体在海洋科学领域的参与。

For this project, the investigator has developed an integrative study including ecological, morphological, biochemical and genetic observations to understand individual responses of corals to temperature stress.Increased coral mortality and subsequent modifications of coral reef ecosystems are responses to the changing environmental conditions that include direct and indirect effects of increased atmospheric CO2, increases in water temperatures, disease outbreaks, bleaching, and opportunistic pathogens. In the Caribbean, combinations of these natural effects have affected several coral species, among them the Montastraea annularis species complex. Considered one of the most important genera of corals in the Caribbean, these species have been affected by diseases and bleaching episodes. Infections and environmental effectors have significantly reduced abundances of M. annularis. Given that these species show local-specific responses to thermal stress and differential survival rates, it is likely that individual genetic composition may offer different levels of resistance/susceptibility to environmental stressors and infectious diseases. Therefore, a combination of observations that includes these different variables is needed to resolve key questions in the response of corals to environmental changes. The broader impacts of the research include mentoring for graduate and undergraduate students in two minority serving programs at the University of Texas Arlington. Mentoring activities involve participation of students in all aspects of the scientific method, including manuscript preparation. Furthermore, the investigator will join outreach efforts of the sponsoring scientist who is engaged in local and statewide activities. The investigator will also work with local junior high schools as well as participate in the Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology conference, where students are taught about coral reefs and exposed to interactive workshops on the role corals play in healthy reef ecosystems. This project is supported under the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE PRF) program, with goals to support novel research by early career scientists and increase the diversity of the U.S. ocean sciences workforce and research community. With OCE-PRF support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to ocean sciences and broaden participation of under-represented groups in the ocean sciences.