Coral reefs represent some of the most biologically diverse, economically important and environmentally sensitive marine habitats in the world. The capacity of reefs to survive in the face of climate change may ultimately be driven by persistence and flexibility in the endosymbioses between scleractinian hosts and dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium. The Hawaiian archipelago represents an extensive, geographically isolated and unique reef system in which the diversity of Symbiodinium is almost completely unexplored. In this three-year project, Supported by Ocean Sciences and EPSCOR, Dr. Gates will comprehensively describe the endosymbiotic and free-living Symbiodinium diversity in the region. This will dramatically improve our understanding of the levels of taxonomic complexity in these Symbiodinium communities. In addition, a comparison of the diversity in multiple compartments of the ecosystem will resolve the levels of specificity in the endosymbiosis and the extent of habitat partitioning within the ecosystem. The sampling design is contextualized by spatial variability in the cumulative number of the Thermal Stress Anomalies in Hawaii, which represents a powerful and globally relevant framework for exploring how temperature history has shaped the diversity of Symbiodinium across the Archipelago. To create a sound interpretation framework, the diversity surveys will be completed using a newly developed molecular marker that is not intra-genomically variable and that provides excellent phylogenetic resolution within Symbiodinium clade C. When complete, this project will begin to resolve whether scleractinian symbioses have the capacity and ecological context to adapt to climate change by modifying their endosymbiotic communities through their interactions with pools of free-living diversity in the coral reef environment.
Broader Impacts Coral reefs play a pivotal role in stabilizing the landmasses they surround and in supporting the economy of the countries they bound. As such, the recent declines in coral reef health in response to increasingly frequent environmental disturbances have profound ramifications and work focusing on this problem is relevant to society. The research will be disseminated through a variety of channels: first, it will be published in the peer reviewed literature; presented and discussed at national and international scientific conferences. In addition the methodologies and data generated here will be transferred to international students and scholars during intensive training sessions held in workshops in Mexico, Philippines, East Africa and Australia in collaboration with the Global Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building Project and funded by the World Bank (Global Environmental Fund). The methods and results will also be incorporated into the Molecular Biology of Corals Techniques Workshop taught by Gates and others at HIMB every summer, with an international pool of students and postdocs. The research results will be conveyed to the community through informal presentations given as part of Community Education Program at the HIMB. Lastly, the data will be ported directly into, and disseminated broadly via a newly developed Global Symbiodinium Database and Mapping Website.
To complete this project, a postdoctoral scholar, a graduate student and an undergraduate will join the PI's active and diverse research program at HIMB. The PI and her lab are members of Hawaii EPSCoR and the work detailed here will represent a component of the Evolutionary Genetics Thrust area of this endeavor (www.epscor.hawaii.edu/about.asp). EPSCoR facilitated academic interactions in the Gates Lab involve the exchange of ideas among scientists at different UH campuses, methodological development and research internships, and the development of grant proposals and papers. The personnel involved in the current project with become an integral part of the highly interactive and diverse Hawaii EPSCoR network. The Gates Lab also has a well-developed relationship with the teachers and students of a number of minority serving institutions in Hawaii including the Priory School, Kamehameha Schools, Punahou, the Pacific Buddhist Academy, and the Myron B. Thompson Academy. The research in this project will be showcased in both interactions with the Hawaiian schools and in guest lectures presented to community colleges and undergraduate at UH Manoa. The research is focused on the coral reefs of Hawaii and efforts to transfer the details of our work to such a diverse set of audiences will promote awareness of the issues facing Hawaii?s coral reefs and ultimately reflect as improved environmental stewardship across the state.
