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

在这个项目中，研究者开展了一项综合研究，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。珊瑚死亡率增加以及随后珊瑚礁生态系统的变化是对环境条件变化的反应，这些变化包括大气中二氧化碳增加、水温升高、疾病爆发、白化和机会性病原体的直接和间接影响。在加勒比地区，这些自然影响的综合影响了几种珊瑚物种，其中包括环状蒙塔斯特拉珊瑚群。被认为是加勒比地区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。感染和环境效应显著降低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异性反应和不同的存活率，个体遗传组成可能对环境应激源和传染病提供不同水平的抗性/易感性。因此，需要结合这些不同的变量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在德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校的两个少数民族服务项目中为研究生和本科生提供指导。指导活动涉及学生参与科学方法的各个方面，包括手稿准备。此外，研究者将参与赞助科学家在当地和全州范围内的活动。研究人员还将与当地的初中合作，并参加西班牙工程科学与技术会议，在那里，学生们将学习珊瑚礁知识，并参加有关珊瑚在健康的珊瑚礁生态系统中所起作用的互动讲习班。该项目由美国国家科学基金会海洋科学博士后研究奖学金（OCE PRF）计划支持，旨在支持早期职业科学家的新颖研究，并增加美国海洋科学工作人员和研究界的多样性。在海洋学研究基金的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够在与海洋科学有关的独立研究事业中立足，并扩大代表性不足的群体参与海洋科学。

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.