The Voss Lab is excited to be a part of a large collaborative effort into researching disease resistance and resilience in the Mountainous Star Coral, Orbicella faveolata. Orbicella faveolata is a critical reef-building species, but populations across the Tropical Western Atlantic have undergone rapid population declines and are further threatened by SCTLD outbreaks. Populations of Orbicella faveolata in Florida waters have been the subject of extensive disease intervention efforts to stop the spread of SCTLD and preserve coral tissue. Successful disease intervention treatments on Florida’s Coral Reef have kept diseased reef-building corals alive, providing a unique opportunity to test intraspecific differences between groups of colonies with differing infection patterns. These colonies have been tagged and monitored over the past seven years and have demonstrated unique intraspecies variation in response to SCTLD; while some O. faveolata colonies are highly susceptible to the disease and can exhibit multiple active lesions, other, nearby O. faveolata colonies on the same reef appear resistant.
This study, funded by Florida's Department of Envronmental Protection, will provide a fundamental understanding of O. faveolata’s holobiont at genetic, morphological, biochemical and molecular scales across three time points. The team will identify differences in endosymbionts, genotypes, metabolites, microbes, biological pathways, immune responses, and histopathology. These differences will provide direction for future research to better identify SCTLD, understand the drivers behind intraspecies resistance variation, develop further disease treatment, and encourage restoration strategies. The outcomes of this project will be incorporated into an on-going coral disease response effort which seeks to improve understanding of the scale and severity of the coral disease outbreak on Florida’s Coral Reef. By identifying primary and secondary causes, researchers can create management strategies to remediate disease impacts, restore affected resources and, ultimately, prevent future outbreaks.
Our lab will be taking on the genotyping and microbe work with Allie Klein taking a lead on the analyses as part of her Master’s Thesis. All of the corals fromt he first time point have been collected and are ready for our 2bRAD and mRNA analysis pipelines.
This study, funded by Florida's Department of Envronmental Protection, will provide a fundamental understanding of O. faveolata’s holobiont at genetic, morphological, biochemical and molecular scales across three time points. The team will identify differences in endosymbionts, genotypes, metabolites, microbes, biological pathways, immune responses, and histopathology. These differences will provide direction for future research to better identify SCTLD, understand the drivers behind intraspecies resistance variation, develop further disease treatment, and encourage restoration strategies. The outcomes of this project will be incorporated into an on-going coral disease response effort which seeks to improve understanding of the scale and severity of the coral disease outbreak on Florida’s Coral Reef. By identifying primary and secondary causes, researchers can create management strategies to remediate disease impacts, restore affected resources and, ultimately, prevent future outbreaks.
Our lab will be taking on the genotyping and microbe work with Allie Klein taking a lead on the analyses as part of her Master’s Thesis. All of the corals fromt he first time point have been collected and are ready for our 2bRAD and mRNA analysis pipelines.
A) Colony of Orbicella faveolata at one of the study sites, B) Tissue samples of O. faveolata being collected using a leather punch, C) Allison Klein pictured collecting samples in the field, D) Preserving O. faveolata samples on the boat after a dive
The team includes:
Principal Investigator
Brian K. Walker, Research Scientist II, Nova Southeastern University
Co-Principal Investigators
Andrew C. Baker, Associate Professor, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Neha Garg, Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech University
Julie L. Meyer, Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Karen Neely, Research Scientist, Nova Southeastern University
Valerie J. Paul, Director, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Assistant Professor, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Joshua D. Voss, Associate Research Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University
Collaborators
Aine Hawthorne, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Postgraduate Research Fellow
Cheryl M. Woodley, NOAA NOS NCCOS, Coral Health and Disease Program Manager
Thierry Work, Project leader, USGS National Wildlife Health Center Honolulu Field Station
Principal Investigator
Brian K. Walker, Research Scientist II, Nova Southeastern University
Co-Principal Investigators
Andrew C. Baker, Associate Professor, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Neha Garg, Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech University
Julie L. Meyer, Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Karen Neely, Research Scientist, Nova Southeastern University
Valerie J. Paul, Director, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Assistant Professor, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Joshua D. Voss, Associate Research Professor, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University
Collaborators
Aine Hawthorne, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Postgraduate Research Fellow
Cheryl M. Woodley, NOAA NOS NCCOS, Coral Health and Disease Program Manager
Thierry Work, Project leader, USGS National Wildlife Health Center Honolulu Field Station
RSS Feed
