Records of past bleaching events, and contemporary environmental conditions, are key to understanding the impact of future climate change and preparing management strategies for coral reef ecosystems. In this interdisciplinary project, the investigators will test the intra-crystalline amino acid composition and degradation in long-lived massive coral skeletons as a potential tracer of past bleaching events. The goal of the research is to characterize the intra-crystalline amino acids, at fortnightly resolution, in a Porites skeleton laid down before, during, and after the well-documented Great Barrier Reef mass coral bleaching event in February 1998. It is anticipated that a characteristic pattern of amino acid anomalies will be found associated with the bleaching event, which can then be used as a biomarker of past bleaching events. The successful identification of a 'coral stress biomarker' will catalyze research into the causes of past coral bleaching, bleaching frequency and severity, and the consequences. The broader impacts include post-doctoral and undergraduate training.
