Award: OCE-1442306

This NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity project characterized the microbiome of over 12,000 stony coral specimen from around the world?s tropical seas in an effort to understand: a) what factors or interactions of factors mediate the intimate associations between corals and their microbes, b) how changing environmental conditions alter these associations between corals and their microbes, and c) how shifts in coral microbiomes can consequentially affect coral reef health now and in the future. This ?Global Coral Microbiome Project? was one of the largest and longest efforts to understand how bacteria, fungi, and other microbes influence coral health, evolution, and resistance and resilience to environmental change. During this project we identified numerous coral microbes some of which are beneficial and some of which are parasites or pathogens. These data are now allowing researchers and managers to determine how each of these coral symbionts alter coral health mechanistically. Further these microbial data provide important information for the conservation of endangered coral species in the US because some corals maybe hosting non-beneficial bacteria that limit their success during restoration efforts. Along with important patterns of microbial diversity in corals, during this project we identified a novel pattern of microbiome disturbance. We showed that, in general, animal microbiomes experiencing stress tend to show stochastic patterns of change rather than deterministic ones. Expanding upon this important and previously unrecognized paradigm in animal microbiomes, we developed statistical approaches to identify this and other patterns within microbiomes. These are techniques and methods now used in multiple fields of microbiome science, and our collective work has spurred dozens of studies concerning, for example, the impact of disturbance on agricultural soils and human diseases. Overall this project has involved numerous as training and outreach programs and efforts to broaden the impact of the basic scientific work. This project included the training of 5 postdoctoral researchers, 5 PhD students, 1 master?s student, and 12 undergraduates. We generated several outreach materials including: a cartoon series called ?Coral County? on coral reef microbiology and ecology, a series of short documentaries about each of our major field expeditions, and current and future scientific displays at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Newport Oregon Aquarium. Lastly, we produced and released a full-length documentary on coral reef decline and microbiology called ?Saving Atlantis.? This non-profit film premiered in 2018 and now is available worldwide on streaming services. Last Modified: 06/04/2020 Submitted by: Rebecca L Vega