About This Project

As ocean warming continues to threaten coral reefs worldwide, it is uncertain whether they will survive. In these experiments, I focus on how corals are going to adapt, specifically investigating how thermal acclimation can be a potential mechanism for coral adaptation and evolution. Here, I will use a multi-species approach to pinpoint some "winners" and "losers" in climate change, important information that will help create management and conservation plans to protect these ecosystems.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and complex ecosystems in the world. In order to function, corals live in a symbiotic association with a marine algae, an important relationship where both partners benefit. However, when water temperatures become too warm, stressed corals will lose their algae and turn white, hence the term "coral bleaching". Rising temperatures are threatening coral reefs worldwide and bleaching events are increasing in frequency and severity. Despite these events, there is some hope! Thermal acclimation has been shown to enhance corals' short-term tolerance, allowing them to survive periods of warming. However, it is still unknown how corals acclimate, how different species are going to respond, and if this could lead to adaptation to the changing climate.

What is the significance of this project?

With the onset of climate change and the rapid increase of sea surface temperatures, corals are facing decline, with a third of reefs already lost. Therefore, understanding how and if corals can thermally acclimate is of vital importance to predicting their future response. This project will examine differences between corals at the molecular level by investigating acclimation of the coral host and their algal symbionts. By investigating these mechanisms of acclimation between species we can pinpoint specific genes that may explain the differences in response and begin to identify possible targets for adaptation in a dynamic environment. The results of my proposed research will compare responses across species and begin to find the "winners" and "losers" of climate change.

What are the goals of the project?

The goals of this project are to examine the variation and the limits and capacities of thermal acclimation responses in nine coral reef species. Here, I will test five different acclimation temperatures with >800 coral individuals. In each experiment, corals will be exposed to one of five acclimation temperatures (22 - 30C) before exposure to a stress treatment at a higher temperature (32C), quantifying the acclimation response. First, I will examine contributions of the coral host by using DNA and RNA-sequencing techniques to examine variation in protein-coding genes as well as measure gene expression of the coral. Additionally, I will examine the contributions of the algal symbiont by quantifying the type of algae within the coral as well as the overall density of the symbionts.