CAREER: Applying phenotypic variability to identify resilient Acropora cervicornis genotypes in the Florida Keys

几十年前，加勒比鹿角珊瑚是佛罗里达群岛珊瑚礁中最常见的珊瑚之一。在过去的40年里，疾病、白化、过度捕捞和栖息地退化导致其数量减少了95%。根据美国1973年颁布的《濒危物种法》，鹿角珊瑚现已被列为受威胁物种。在过去的几年里，为了恢复佛罗里达和美属维尔京群岛鹿角珊瑚的数量，已经投入了数百万美元。在珊瑚苗圃内，我们致力维持和繁殖已知基因型的珊瑚，以供外植。然而，目前人们对从苗圃移植到珊瑚礁上的单个基因型知之甚少。用于外植的基因型是否足以抵御影响佛罗里达群岛人口的三大压力因素：疾病、高水温和海洋酸化？本研究中的研究将是回答这个至关重要的问题的第一步。该资助项目还将为佛罗里达群岛和美属维尔京群岛的K-12学生开发一个以研究为基础的课后项目，该项目强调以探究为基础的课程、STEM研究活动和同伴对同伴的指导。来自目前研究的信息将帮助科学家预测在未来气候变化和海洋酸化的情况下，物种在佛罗里达群岛下游地区持续存在的可能性。这项研究的结果还将有助于指导整个佛罗里达和加勒比地区的恢复工作，并导致更多信息丰富、基于科学的恢复活动。至少在过去的50万年里，颈角鹿角蜥在佛罗里达群岛的浅水珊瑚礁中占主导地位，但由于多种压力，其数量最近有所下降。了解当前种群对三大威胁（疾病爆发、高温和海洋酸化条件）的适应能力，对保护这一受威胁物种至关重要。目前研究的结果将回答主要的研究问题：来自佛罗里达群岛下游的代表性基因型是否能为这种受威胁的物种在未来生存提供足够的表型变异？本项目将把受控实验室挑战实验与实地数据和建模应用相结合，并与当地教育工作者合作，实现以下五个目标：1)鉴定抗疾病的颈喙拟蚊基因型；2)鉴定适应高水温和海洋酸化条件的颈喙拟蚊基因型；3)量化高水温和海洋酸化条件对颈喙拟蚊疾病动态的影响；4)确定由于弹性因素而导致的生活史特征的权衡；5)应用基于性状的模型预测不同环境情景下种群的基因型结构。

Caribbean staghorn coral was one of the most common corals within reefs of the Florida Keys several decades ago. Over the last 40 years disease, bleaching, overfishing and habitat degradation caused a 95% reduction of the population. Staghorn coral is now listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. Within the past few years, millions of dollars have been invested for the purpose of restoring the population of staghorn coral within Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Significant effort has been placed on maintaining and propagating corals of known genotypes within coral nurseries for the purpose of outplanting. However, little is known about the individual genotypes that are currently being outplanted from nurseries onto coral reefs. Are the genotypes being used for outplanting resilient enough to survive the three major stressors affecting the population in the Florida Keys: disease, high water temperatures, and ocean acidification? The research within the present study will be the first step in answering this critically important question. The funded project will additionally develop a research-based afterschool program with K-12 students in the Florida Keys and U.S. Virgin Islands that emphasizes an inquiry-based curriculum, STEM research activities, and peer-to-peer mentoring. The information from the present study will help scientists predict the likelihood of species persistence within the lower Florida Keys under future climate-change and ocean-acidification scenarios. Results of this research will also help guide restoration efforts throughout Florida and the Caribbean, and lead to more informative, science-based restoration activities.Acropora cervicornis dominated shallow-water reefs within the Florida Keys for at least the last half a million years, but the population has recently declined due to multiple stressors. Understanding the current population level of resilience to three major threats - disease outbreaks, high water temperatures, and ocean acidification conditions - is critical for the preservation of this threatened species. Results from the present study will answer the primary research question: will representative genotypes from the lower Florida Keys provide enough phenotypic variation for this threatened species to survive in the future? The present proposal will couple controlled laboratory challenge experiments with field data and modeling applications, and collaborate with local educators to fulfill five objectives: 1) identify A. cervicornis genotypes resistant to disease, 2) identify A. cervicornis genotypes resilient to high water temperature and ocean acidification conditions, 3) quantify how high water temperature and ocean acidification conditions impact disease dynamics on A. cervicornis; 4) determine tradeoffs in life-history traits because of resilience factors; and 5) apply a trait-based model, which will predict genotypic structure of a population under different environmental scenarios.