RII Track-4: NSF: Novel target-enriched genomic approaches to assess the diversity of Gorgonian Octocorals on Indo-Pacific Mesophotic Coral Reefs

RII Track-4研究奖学金将调查从印度-太平洋浅层到中层深处柳珊瑚的多样性。印度-太平洋珊瑚礁是海洋生物多样性的中心，但这些生态系统的自然复原力和生物多样性受到极大威胁。更深层(中生珊瑚生态系统；30至150米)的研究显示，面对陡峭的环境梯度，生物多样性和自然复原力的储藏库未知。柳珊瑚通常在这些动态环境中占据主导地位，但众所周知，在野外和仅从形态特征上很难识别。此外，分子系统学在很大程度上尚未解决，直到最近该项目在国家自然历史博物馆(NMNH)主持的开创性研究，使用靶标捕获基因组学。这项研究将把这些新的基因组方法应用于Pi从印度-太平洋的中温层和浅水礁收集的稀有和非常独特的柳珊瑚标本，这些标本是她几年来收集的。将这些新的基因组方法应用于PI的收集将超越目前的分析限制，并为蛇怪生命树增加变革性的数据和系统发育的准确性。这项奖学金将通过将这些关键和创新技能传授给夏威夷大学MāNoa分校的能力建设，特别是传授给那些在样本所在地土生土长、热衷于保护国家和国际关注的海洋生物多样性的少数族裔学生，来帮助他们建设能力。柳珊瑚是一个重要的生态类群，具有高度的多样性，但分辨率很低，传统的标记缺乏在物种和更高分类水平上的系统发育分辨率。在养护管理的生物多样性评估中，划定物种和跨越陡峭环境斜坡的物种边界至关重要，特别是在日益认识到中生生态系统的价值的情况下。因此，我们检验了这样的假设：1)柳珊瑚动物群在中层深度是独特和更多样化的，2)无处不在的安妮拉·格雷属(Annella Gray，1858)内的形态类型是以深度为界的。这将使用宿主开发的目标捕获基因组方法来实现，该方法同时估计浅层和深层类群之间的系统发育关系、物种内的种群结构和物种边界的划定。使用这些方法将有助于建立一个多性状(表型和基因组)框架，该框架将1)从浅层到中层深度评估柳珊瑚类群内部和之间的系统发育和系统地理关系，2)提供广泛分布的属的种群结构和物种划定的示范案例研究，Annella Gray，1858。这项工作将开发一个多特征(形态和基因组)框架，以促进我们对来自世界上一些最具生物多样性但极度濒危的热点地区至关重要的珊瑚群的理解。这项研究将为太平洋沿岸国家的PI和一名女性研究生助理提供机会，学习这些针对珊瑚的高效基因组技术，并正式(例如，同行评议出版物，MCE Gordon研究会议)和非正式(例如，社交媒体平台)传播结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RII Track-4 Research Fellowship will investigate the diversity of gorgonian octocorals from shallow to mesophotic depths of the Indo-Pacific. The coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific are centres of marine biodiversity, yet the natural resilience and biodiversity of these ecosystems are under great threat. Research at deeper depths (mesophotic coral ecosystems - MCEs; 30 to 150 m) reveal an unknown reservoir of biodiversity and natural resilience in the face of steep environmental gradients. Gorgonian octocorals typically dominate these dynamic environments yet are notoriously difficult to identify in the field and from morphological traits alone. Furthermore, molecular phylogenies have been largely unresolved, until the recent pioneering research of the project host at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), using target-capture genomics. This research will apply these novel genomic approaches to the PI’s rare and highly unique gorgonian collection from the mesophotic and shallow reefs of the Indo-Pacific that she has assembled over several years. Applying these novel genomic approaches to the PI’s collections will move beyond current analytical limitations and add transformative data and phylogenetic accuracy to the Cnidarian tree of life. This fellowship will assist the PI in building capacity at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa by passing on these critical and innovative skills, particularly to underrepresented minority students who are native to the locations of the samples themselves, and are passionate to conserve marine biodiversity of national and international concern. Gorgonian octocorals are an ecologically important, highly diverse yet poorly resolved group, where traditional markers have lacked phylogenetic resolution at the species and higher taxonomic level. Delimiting species and species boundaries across steep environmental clines are critically important in biodiversity assessments for conservation management particularly as the value of mesophotic ecosystems is increasingly recognised. Thus, we test the hypotheses that 1) the gorgonian fauna is distinct and more diverse at mesophotic depths, and 2) that morphotypes within the ubiquitous genus Annella Gray, 1858, are delimited by depth. This will be achieved using the target-capture genomic approach developed by the host, which simultaneously estimates the phylogenetic relationships between taxa over shallow and deep time, population structure within a species, and the delimitation of species boundaries. Using these methods will facilitate the development of a multi-trait (phenotypic and genomic) framework that will 1) assess the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships within and between gorgonian taxa from shallow to mesophotic depths, and 2) present an exemplar case study of population structure and species delimitation in the widely distributed genus, Annella Gray, 1858. This work will develop a multi-trait (morphologic and genomic) framework to advance our understanding of a critically important coral group from some of the world’s most biodiverse yet critically endangered hotspots. This research will provide the opportunity for the PI and a female graduate assistant from a Pacific coastal nation, to learn these highly effective genomic techniques that are specific to corals, and disseminate the results formally (e.g., peer-review publication, MCE Gordon Research Conference) and informally (e.g., social media platforms).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.