Postdoctoral Fellowship: OCE-PRF: Effects of dual anthropogenic stressors across life history in a reef-building coral

Over fifty percent of the world’s reef-building corals have experienced mortality since the 1970s. Conserving what remains of coral reefs is vital given the importance of these ecosystems to ecological stability and human society. For example, coral reefs are a valuable economic resource, protecting coastlines from damaging waves and supporting fish and other species that are important food resources across the globe. However, our ability to sustain healthy coral reefs is limited by our lack of knowledge surrounding how corals respond to environmental conditions, and in particular combinations of stressors. Through experiments conducted in Bermuda, the lead researcher will investigate how seawater heat, low oxygen, and the combination of these factors impacts corals as adults and early in their life cycle. Given the importance of coral reefs for national health, prosperity, welfare, and defense, this research will serve the national interest in line with NSF’s mission. Additionally, this research contributes to our understanding of how the ocean impacts and is impacted by humans, in line with the mission of the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences. The lead investigator will also involve students in the research process to integrate youth into coral reef research and conservation efforts while strengthening the public understanding of the importance of coral reefs. This project will characterize the effects of heat, hypoxia, and their combination on a reef-building coral across life history stages (larvae to adult). First, the investigator will profile abiotic conditions at a reef in Bermuda and perform a mesocosm experiment to characterize coral physiological and molecular (e.g., gene expression) responses to heat and/or hypoxia. Next, coral larvae will be exposed to heat and/or hypoxia and their physiological and molecular responses characterized, followed by being outplanted on the reef as juveniles for later sampling to quantify carryover effects. This work will expand our understanding of how corals respond to multiple environmental stressors across life stages, with implications for population projection models and conservation efforts. In Boston and Bermuda, the investigator will work with students at all levels, including through an educational module that will give students hands-on research experience while expanding public awareness of the global importance of coral reef ecosystems. Overall, this work will benefit society by advancing our ability to conserve coral reefs while also providing foundational education to the next generation of scientists. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.