RAPID: Collaborative Research: Impact of freshwater runoff from Hurricane Harvey on coral reef benthic organisms and associated microbial communities

RAPID：合作研究：哈维飓风淡水径流对珊瑚礁底栖生物和相关微生物群落的影响

• 批准号: 1800904
• 负责人: Sarah Davies
• 金额: $ 3.22万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-12-01 至 2019-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1800904&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Collaborative; Research; Impact; freshwater

Coral reefs are ecologically and economically important ecosystems, and are threatened by a variety of global (climate change) and local (overfishing, pollution) stressors. Anthropogenic climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of storms, which can physically damage reef structures and reduce reef health through changes in seawater quality. In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused widespread flooding in southeast Texas when it released more than 50 trillion liters of rain, which then accumulated along the Texas Shelf. This runoff is expected to impact nearby coral reefs in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS, northwest Gulf of Mexico) via eddies and jets that transport coastal waters offshore. Findings from this project will allow managers to quickly predict whether extreme storm events are likely to induce reef mortality and ecosystem decline due to freshwater accumulation, by tracking of low salinity water masses coupled with microbial community characterization and metrics of coral health. These data are critical to managing coastal ecosystems, including the high coral cover reefs in the FGBNMS, and will help stakeholders (e.g., diving and fishing communities) plan for and minimize disruption to their livelihoods following these storms. Results will be communicated broadly across scientific arenas, in graduate and undergraduate education and training programs, and to the general public through outreach. The investigators have seven 7 square meter 2-D Reef Replicas from 2014 depicting representative FGBNMS reef bottoms, and will construct additional 2-D Reef Replicas from both banks following the arrival of Harvey runoff, allowing the public to directly experience and quantify the effects of Hurricane Harvey on local reefs using quadrats and identification guides. This project will also synergize with NSF REU programs at Boston University and Texas A&M University, providing transformative research experiences for undergraduates. One post-doctoral scholar, four graduate students, a technician and more than 5 undergraduates will be involved in all aspects of the research. All datasets will be made freely available to the public, and will serve as an important set of baselines for future lines of inquiry into the processes by which hurricanes and other extreme storms impact reef health.Hurricanes and other extreme storm events can decimate coral reefs through wave-driven physical damage. Freshwater runoff from extreme storms is also potentially detrimental to reefs but has received comparatively less attention. This research will provide unprecedented resolution on how hurricanes and other extreme storm events may trigger cascading interactions among water chemistry, declines in metazoan health and shifts in their associated microbial communities, ultimately resulting in coral reef decline. The freshwater runoff initiated by Hurricane Harvey is likely to impact reefs within the FGBNMS, one of the few remaining coral-dominated reefs in the greater Caribbean. The effects of Harvey runoff will be compared to a previously documented storm-driven runoff event that was associated with invertebrate mortality on the same reef system. Sampling seawater chemistry, microbial communities (water column and benthic), and host gene expression and proteomics before, immediately after, and six months after Harvey runoff enters the FGBNMS will allow us to identify commonalities among large-scale freshwater runoff events and track the response of benthic invertebrate health, microbial community diversity, and the trajectory of reef community recovery or decline. The investigators will determine if changes in water chemistry induce pelagic microbial shifts, if microbial communities typically associated with corals and sponges are altered, and whether feedbacks occur between these potential drivers of benthic invertebrate mortality.

珊瑚礁在生态和经济上是重要的生态系统，受到各种全球（气候变化）和局部（过度捕捞，污染）压力的威胁。人为气候变化正在增加风暴的频率和严重程度，这可以通过变化海水质量来物理损害礁石结构并降低礁石的健康。 2017年8月，哈维飓风在德克萨斯州东南部释放了超过500万亿升的降雨，随后沿着德克萨斯州的货架积累了广泛的洪水。预计该径流将通过涡流和喷气式飞机和喷气式飞机，影响沿海水域的涡流和喷气式飞机。该项目的发现将使经理能够快速预测极端风暴事件是否可能导致礁石死亡率和由于淡水积累而导致的生态系统下降，通过跟踪低盐度水质量以及微生物社区的表征和珊瑚健康指标。这些数据对于管理沿海生态系统（包括fgbnms中的高珊瑚礁）至关重要，并将帮助利益相关者（例如潜水和捕鱼社区）计划，并最大程度地减少对这些风暴后的生计的破坏。结果将在科学领域，研究生和本科教育和培训计划中广泛传达，并通过外展向公众传达。调查人员有七个7平方米的2-D礁复制品，描绘了代表性的FGBNMS珊瑚礁底部，并将在哈维径流到达后，将构建两家银行的额外的2-D礁复制品，使公众可以直接体验并量化Harvey对Local Reefs对Quadrats and Identifiendiendiendiendiendies的影响。该项目还将与波士顿大学和德克萨斯A＆M大学的NSF REU计划协同作用，为本科生提供变革性的研究经验。一名博士后学者，四名研究生，一名技术人员和5名本科生将参与研究的各个方面。所有数据集都将免费向公众提供，并将作为一组重要的基线，用于将来对飓风和其他极端风暴影响珊瑚礁健康的过程进行调查。赫里卡纳人和其他极端风暴事件可以通过波浪驱动的物理损害来削弱珊瑚礁。极端风暴的淡水径流也可能对珊瑚礁有害，但受到相对较少的关注。这项研究将为飓风和其他极端风暴事件如何触发水化学之间的层层相互作用，后生动物健康的下降以及其相关微生物群落的转变，最终导致珊瑚礁下降。飓风哈维（Harvey）发起的淡水径流可能会影响fgbnms内的礁石，这是大加勒比海中少数剩下的珊瑚主导的礁石之一。哈维径流的影响将与先前记录的风暴驱动的径流事件进行比较，该事件与同一礁石系统上的无脊椎动物死亡率有关。在Harvey径流进入FGBNMS之前，紧接和六个月后，对海水化学，微生物群落（水柱和底栖）以及宿主的基因表达和蛋白质组学进行取样，将使我们能够确定大型淡水径流事件之间的共同点，并在脑，脑，无脊椎动物健康，微生物群落多样性社区的响应中，并追求左右的响应。研究人员将确定水化学的变化是否会引起上层微生物的转移，是否会改变通常与珊瑚和海绵相关的微生物群落，以及在这些潜在的底栖无脊椎动物死亡率的驱动因素之间是否发生反馈。

项目成果

Gene Expression of Endangered Coral (Orbicella spp.) in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary After Hurricane Harvey

哈维飓风过后花园岸国家海洋保护区内濒危珊瑚（Orbicella spp.）的基因表达

• DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00672
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Frontiers in marine science
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Wright, Rachel M.;Correa, Adrienne M.;Quigley, Lucinda A.;Santiago-Vázquez, Lory Z.;Shamberger, Kathryn E.;Davies, Sarah W.
• 通讯作者: Davies, Sarah W.