PIRE: Assembly of Marine Biodiversity Along Geographic and Anthropogenic Stress Gradients

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Indonesia is in the center of the Coral Triangle, a region that contains the world's most biologically diverse coral reefs. These reefs are an extremely important biological and economic resource locally and globally, but are severely threatened by human impacts and climate change; as such, these reefs are important conservation targets. We will be deploying a novel monitoring tool called Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) to measure marine biodiversity gradients across the Indonesian Archipelago and determine what organisms are present on these reefs and how this biodiversity is impacted by human caused environmental stress. ARMS are particularly good at capturing the hidden biodiversity that comprises the vast majority of marine biodiversity (e.g., viruses, microbes, smaller animals, algae etc). With this information, we will be able to better understand the processes shaping the marine biodiversity in the Coral Triangle, thereby improving the ability of resource managers to develop strategies to promote sustainability of these valuable marine ecosystems. A key innovation of this project is that it will be conducted in an international collaborative framework that increases local scientific capacity in Indonesia, one of the world's most populous developing countries, while simultaneously preparing U.S. post-doctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students to be global leaders in the science of marine biodiversity, capable of international research in the world's most diverse marine environments. The project is funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) through the PIRE.