Coral & Coral Reef Fishes
Corals can be understood as holobionts: associations among an animal host, photosynthetic algal symbionts, bacteria, and other microorganisms. Their responses to environmental change can therefore depend on several interacting biological partners as well as on the conditions they have previously experienced. This complexity makes coral reefs powerful systems for studying how environmental history, host genetics, and microbial community composition jointly influence resilience.
Why coral and coral reef fishes are a good system for our questionsÂ
Our coral research examines variation in thermal tolerance and bleaching susceptibility across hosts, symbionts, environments, and geographic regions. Recent work has shown that both holobiont composition and past environmental conditions can contribute to differences in coral thermotolerance. We also use DNA metabarcoding and environmental DNA to characterize coral-reef biodiversity, host-associated microbial communities, and ecological interactions involving reef fishes. By connecting organismal performance with community and molecular data, we aim to understand why some corals and reef communities are better able than others to withstand rapid ocean warming and other human disturbances.
Members Involved
Laura Lardinois
Graduate Student
Paige Smallman
Graduate Student
Victoria Glynn
Graduate Student
Rowan Barrett
Principal Investigator