Award: OCE-1635913

This NSF funded project aimed to test the central hypothesis that microbial and viral infection of corals reduces reef health by directly and indirectly impacting colony physiology, microbiology, and/or altering C and N release from coral, resulting in ecological feedback loops on the reef. Over 3 years we characterized the spatiotemporal dynamics of bacteria and viruses within three dominant reef-building coral species that differed in their susceptibility to stress. Overall, the project aimed to access the role of microbiome and virome in coral reef biology, ecology, and biogeochemistry. To achieve this aim we developed a program to first describe and track the composition of the bacterial and viral community across time and space in the highly parameterized system: the Mo’orea Coral Reef (MCR) Long Term Ecological Research site in French Polynesia. We selected 21 sites around the island and collected replicate host (corals and macroalgae), water, and sediment samples twice annually for 3 full years as well as a variety of providence (photographs and GPS coordinates) and metadata (water temperature, DOC, nutrient concentrations etc.) associated with each location and sample target. These samples were used for several downstream analyses including: microbiome analysis, viral diversity and population dynamics using genomics and informatics, coral health metrics data using photographic, and benthic survey data. In all we collected these myriad data in August 2017, March 2018, August 2018, March 2019, and August 2019, March 2020 and have collected ~2000 biological samples, not including experimental samples, for analysis that has now created a legacy dataset to track the microbial and viral composition of coral reefs across time and space. Subsets of these data have already been analyzed and dissemination to the general community while other results are in peer review or in preparation for peer-review. Additional data are being generated for further analysis in the next few years. Thus far we have shown that both DNA and RNA viruses as well as some bacteria can contribute to negative health outcomes of corals during disturbance events. We have characterized novel types of coral viruses and evaluated their evolutionary relationships with known viruses while also determining their roles in coral bleaching and disease. We showed that during bleaching events, corals release additional carbon that can further negatively impact the local reef and potentially contribute to altered carbon cycling at a global scale. Further we found that in some corals the bacterial communities seem resilient to low level thermal stress. These microbes maybe involved in coral acclimatization or adaptation to climate change. Lastly, we found that the microbiology and virology of a whole island is influenced by a myriad of factors including the abundance of local nutrients and other ecosystem level differences. Ultimately this combined and multidisciplinary research generated remarkable specimens and data resources for understanding how the microbiome and virome influences coral reef function and health. Along with the scientific outcomes of this work we have conducted extensive training and science communication to broaden the impact of this project. Collectively we have trained 5 postdoctoral researchers, 9 graduate students, and 15 undergraduate students in molecular biology, coral reef ecology, and data analytics. Further we have conducted a variety of outreach efforts with local museums in Texas, Oregon, and New York to connect broader audiences to our research and to the coral reefs in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. We have presented our work at national and international conferences to disseminate the results and impacts of this NSF funded project work to the scientific community as well as to broader audiences worldwide. Last Modified: 12/23/2020 Submitted by: Rebecca L Vega