This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.
This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Michael Holcomb to work with Dr. Denis Allemand at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco in Monaco.
Coral reefs represent one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth. Reefs are home to numerous species and serve as an important resource for humans as well. In many tropical regions, reefs provide a source of food, revenue from tourism, and erosion protection for coastal regions. Coral reefs are built from the skeletons of corals. Corals are animals which often host algae within their tissue. The algae within the coral help the coral to grow faster by utilizing energy from the sun to carry out photosynthesis. Some of the products of photosynthesis, such as sugars, are then given to the coral thus providing an energy source for the coral. The work being done by Michael Holcomb and colleagues at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco focuses on understanding what role the products of photosynthesis play in tropical corals and how photosynthesis is linked to faster skeleton formation. These researchers are determining what types of sugars are provided to the coral by the algae and how different sugars affect skeleton formation and coral metabolism. If they find the right combination of photosynthetic products to duplicate the effect of the algae, it may then be possible provide these compounds to corals which have lost their algae and help improve coral survival. This is particularly important as ocean temperatures rise, leading to more frequent and severe coral bleaching (the loss of algae from the coral) events. Once bleached, a coral tends to either die, or reacquire algae. If the period of time which a coral can live without algae can be extended, it may increase the chances of the coral reacquiring algae and ultimately surviving bleaching events.
