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

随着世界范围内珊瑚白化事件的严重程度和频率不断增加，迫切需要新的技术来帮助我们更好地了解共生科物种之间的功能差异，以及这如何影响当前在珊瑚礁系统中观察到的热易感性和耐受性模式。PI新开发的原型仪器将使研究人员能够利用光色素的相对丰度和使用的差异，以及它们对波动光的反应，来解决藻类中物种特定的功能特征。在2016年7月举行的美国国家科学基金会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热耐受性的理解。项目申请资金使用项目的原型荧光计来评估目前在陆基苗圃内生长的30多种不同珊瑚的光生理差异。生产一个大的数据集，匹配表型基因型是至关重要的地面真相仪器的能力，以解决跨共生二科物种的功能差异。该项目还将进一步优化该仪器的水下部署，以便在现场查询珊瑚/藻类共生情况。最终产品将是一个高度通用和低成本的仪器平台，易于研究人员和保护/修复重点小组使用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.