EAGER: Towards establishing trait-based phenotypes for Symbiodiniaceae algae within reef corals - A low-cost approach using an open-source instrument platform.

随着全球珊瑚白化事件的严重性和频率不断增加，迫切需要新的技术来帮助我们更好地了解各个共生藻科物种在功能上如何彼此不同，以及这如何有助于目前在整个珊瑚礁系统中观察到的热敏感性和耐受性模式。PI新开发的原型仪器将使研究人员能够利用藻类色素的相对丰度和使用的差异，以及它们对波动光的反应，以解决藻类中的物种特异性功能特征。在2016年7月举行的NSF赞助的珊瑚漂白研讨会上，强调了对标准化工具的需求，这些工具有助于预测漂白脆弱性并提高我们对耐热性的理解。PI要求资助使用PI的原型荧光计来评估目前在陆地苗圃中生长的30多种不同珊瑚物种的光生理差异。生产一个大的数据集，匹配表型的基因型是地面真实的仪器解决功能差异共生藻科物种的能力至关重要。研究所亦会进一步优化仪器，以供在水底部署，从而可在原地查询珊瑚/藻类的共生情况。最终产品将是一个高度通用和低成本的仪器平台，研究人员和保护/恢复重点groups.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

As worldwide coral bleaching events continue to increase in severity and frequency, new techniques are desperately needed to help us better understand how individual Symbiodiniaceae species are functionally different from one another and how this contributes to the current patterns of thermal susceptibility and tolerance observed across reef systems. The PI’s newly developed prototype instrument would enable researchers to exploit differences in the relative abundance and use of photopigments, and their response to fluctuating light to resolve species-specific functional traits within algae. The need for standardized tools that help predict bleaching vulnerability and improve our understanding of thermal tolerance was highlighted in a NSF sponsored coral bleaching workshop held in July of 2016.The PIs request funding use the PI’s prototype fluorometer to assess photo-physiological differences across over 30 different species of coral currently grown within land-based nurseries. Production of a large data set which matches phenotype to genotype is critical for ground truthing the instruments ability to resolve functional differences across Symbiodiniaceae species. The PI will also further optimize the instrument for underwater deployment so that coral/algal symbioses may be queried in-situ. The end product would be a highly versatile and low-cost instrument platform readily accessible to both researchers and conservation/restoration focused groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.