The abundance of reef-building corals has declined dramatically over the last decades. The main causes of coral loss are related to ocean warming, nutrient pollution and disease outbreaks, all resulting from anthropogenic-induced climate change. Observations indicate that number and prevalence of coral diseases have increased over the last two decades and new epizootics nearly every year suggest that environmental stressors drive or exacerbate coral disease. This project will examine coral resistance to pathogens and variation in innate immunity, as well as quantify the effects of ocean warming and nutrient pollution on the effectiveness of coral immune responses. The project will focus on the Montastraea faveolata Yellow Band Disease (YBD) system. The genus Montastraea is one of the most important groups of corals of modern western Atlantic coral reefs, however, Montastraea spp. populations have declined dramatically mainly due to bleaching and disease.
Using assays for cellular and cell-free processes in coral immunity, the PIs will examine the variability in disease resistance in naturally infected corals, the reaction time and recovery time from temperature stress and how the combination of stressors influence coral immunity in the presence of YBD pathogens. This project will also train undergraduates and graduate students at multiple universities, and promote exchange between four universities. Funding will support a novel service-learning project. Undergraduate students from an upper-level marine biology course will prepare and execute a lesson plan for junior high school students based on concepts from their course and this project. One of the investigators on this project will collaborate with professional educators and outreach specialists at a Planetarium and a public-oriented Science Center to develop an interactive museum display and K-4 summer camp programs.
This project was designed to take several novel research and outreach approaches to the study of coral disease. Our research plan applies principles in ecological immunology to aide in understanding variation in disease resistance and immunity in reef-building corals and uses a coral species that is both vital and sensitive to reef health, the Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata (formerly Montastraea faveolata). This species has experienced high mortality due to bleaching and several diseases, including White Plague and Caribbean Yellow Band Disease (CYBD). Our approach combines field and mesocosm experiments and is the first multifactorial study using multiple stressors, multiple measures of resistance and time courses. The specific goals of this project are designed to address different aspects of the processes influencing immune plasticity in corals and are as follows: Evaluate the variability in disease resistance in naturally infected O. faveolata. Examine the mechanisms by which temperature stress affects host immunity by determining the reaction time and recovery time. Determine how multiple environmental and biotic stressors influence coral immunity. Train students and communicate results to the community through interactions with reef managers, university students and K-12 teachers and students. This project has increased the understanding of the innate immune system in scleractinian corals. The time series of sampling and genomic resources will have far-reaching effects to further this field. These are unique data sets that will be able to address fundamental questions in coral stress and responses to bleaching. The data showing that gene expression is affected by bleaching even 1 year post-bleaching is a significant and novel result. Pairing immune phenotype (protein activity) and gene expression is also a novel approach that will reveal how the two are coordinated that will conceptually advance the field. The current rate of marine ecosystem deterioration is posting an urgent action to conserve these important natural areas. Coral reefs are one of the most affected ecosystems in the ocean with increase temperature as the most important effector. Understanding how corals resist and respond to thermal stress can provide mechanisms as to how to protect this species and preserve reefs. Findings from this project on how coral immune systems evolve and respond to environmental stressors, suggest that coral reefs may have the ability to survive climate change, but the composition of the ecosystem may change. Advances in the study of coral immunity can have implications in various disciplines. Probably the most obvious is conservation. As we understand how corals immune system works, it will be possible to protect them and the ecosystems they build.
