EAPSI: The Effects of Climate Change on Coral Larvae in Relation to Coral Reef Connectivity

海洋酸化被广泛认为是与气候变化有关的对珊瑚礁的威胁。OA可能会影响与珊瑚礁种群之间自由游动的珊瑚幼虫交换有关的过程，现有的研究表明，海水流动在珊瑚礁之间运送这些幼虫以维持生物多样性的重要性。然而，关于珊瑚幼虫在水柱中的位置以及这种位置如何受到海洋环境影响的了解较少，这表明在评估幼虫扩散和随后种群之间的连通性方面存在关键的知识差距。这个项目主要研究普通珊瑚幼虫的行为和生理，以及这些特征将如何受到OA的影响。更大的目标是更好地了解开放珊瑚礁和气候变化将如何改变珊瑚礁之间的连通性，并调解物种组成的变化。这项研究将与日本冲绳Sesoko研究站的Sesoko Research Station合作进行，作为琉球大学热带生物圈研究中心的一部分。该项目阐明了海洋酸化(OA)对刚孵化的硬珊瑚Pocillopora Damicoris早期生活阶段的影响，并重点研究了它们的幼虫在原位的行为和生理。该项目采用了三种方法：1)确定幼虫在24小时内在水柱中的位置，2)测试OA对幼虫就地行为(即在水中的位置)的影响，以及3)检查父母暴露于OA对幼虫行为的影响。Harii博士已经成功地进行了许多关于孵化事件的实验，她的专业知识将有助于捕获幼虫并将其运送到实验现场实验室。此外，Sesoko研究站的位置将使今后能够跨太平洋比较在开放式获取下的达米科尼斯疫霉幼虫的生理表现，并将与在法属波利尼西亚莫雷亚进行的正在进行的实验相结合，作为美国、日本和莫雷亚研究人员之间更大合作框架的一部分。通过科学研究交流扩大日本和美国之间的文化关系将继续加强两国的学术伙伴关系。东亚和太平洋暑期学院项目下的这个奖项支持一名美国研究生的暑期研究，由NSF和日本科学促进会共同资助。

Ocean acidification, or OA, is widely recognized as a climate change-related threat to coral reefs. OA may affect processes related to the exchange of free-swimming coral larvae between populations on a reef, and existing research characterizes the importance of seawater flow in transporting these larvae among reefs in order to maintain biodiversity. However, less is known about the position of coral larvae in the water column and how this is affected by OA, representing a critical knowledge gap in evaluating larval dispersal and subsequent connectivity among populations. This project focuses on the behavior and physiology of larvae from a common coral and how these features will be affected by OA. The larger objective is to better understand how OA and climate change will alter connectivity among coral reefs and mediate changes in species composition. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Saki Harii at Sesoko Research Station in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus.This project elucidates the effect of ocean acidification (OA) on the early life stages of Pocillopora damicornis, a brooding scleractinian coral, and focuses on the behavior and physiology of their larvae in situ. The project employs a threefold approach that: 1) determines the location of larvae in the water column over a 24-hour period, 2) tests for an effect of OA on behavior of larvae in situ (i.e., position in the water), and 3) examines the effect of parent exposure to OA on larvae behavior. Dr. Harii has successfully conducted many experiments on brooding events, and her expertise will aid in the capture and transport of larvae to experimental in situ chambers. Additionally, the location of Sesoko Research Station will allow for future cross-Pacific comparisons of the physiological performance of P. damicornis larvae under OA, and will be integrated with ongoing experiments conducted in Moorea, French Polynesia, as part of a larger framework of collaboration between researchers in the United States, Japan, and Moorea. Expanding cultural relations between Japan and the United States through the exchange of scientific research will continue to strengthen the academic partnership between the two countries.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.