Project: Signature exometabolomes of Caribbean corals and influences on reef picoplankton

Acronym/Short Name:Coral Exometabolomes
Project Duration:2017-10 - 2021-09
Geolocation:U.S. Virgin Islands

Description

NSF Award Abstract:
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the ocean. Globally, reefs have declined in stony (reef-building) coral abundance due to environmental variations, and in the Caribbean this decline has coincided with an increase in octocoral (soft coral) abundance. This phase shift occurring on Caribbean reefs may be impacting the interactions between the sea floor and water column and particularly between corals and picoplankton. Picoplankton are the microorganisms in the water column that utilize organic matter released from corals to support their growth. These coral-picoplankton interactions are relatively unstudied, but could have major implications for reef ecology and coral health. This project will take place in the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands (USVI) and will produce the first detailed knowledge about the chemical diversity and composition of organic matter released from diverse stony coral and octocoral species. This project will advance our understanding of coral reef microbial ecology by allowing us to understand how different coral metabolites impact picoplankton growth and dynamics over time. The results from this project will be made publically accessible in a freely available online magazine, and USVI minority middle and high school students will be exposed to a lesson about chemical-biological interactions on coral reefs through established summer camps. This project will also contribute to the training of USVI minority undergraduates as well as a graduate student.

Coral exometabolomes, which are the sum of metabolic products of the coral together with its microbiome, are thought to structure picoplankton communities in a species-specific manner. However, a detailed understanding of coral exometabolomes, and their influences on reef picoplankton, has not yet been obtained. This project will utilize controlled aquaria-based experiments with stony corals and octocorals, foundational species of Caribbean reef ecosystems, to examine how the exometabolomes of diverse coral species differentially influence the reef picoplankton community. Specifically, this project will capitalize on recent developments in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to define the signature exometabolomes of ecologically important and diverse stony corals and octocorals. Secondly, this project will determine how the exometabolomes of these corals vary with factors linked to coral taxonomy as well as the coral-associated microbiome (Symbiodinium algae, bacteria and archaea). With this new understanding of coral exometabolomes, the project will then apply a stable isotope probe labeling approach to the coral exometabolome and will examine if and how (through changes in growth and activity) the seawater picoplankton community incorporates coral exometabolomes from different coral species over time. This project will advance our ability to evaluate the role that coral exometabolomes play in contributing to benthic-picoplankton interactions on changing Caribbean reefs.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Reef seawater biogeochemistry data from samples collected in the Jardines de la Reina reef-system, Cuba in November of 20172023-10-26Final no updates expected
Sampling and accession information for extracellular reef seawater metabolites collected from the Jardines de la Reina reef-system, Cuba in November of 20172023-10-20Final no updates expected
Biogeochemistry, metabolomics, and metagenomics of Florida's Coral Reef from sampling conducted over 15 days in June 20192023-03-08Final no updates expected
Incubation experiments were conducted in St. John, US Virgin Islands to investigate the macronutrient drawdown response of reef seawater microbial communities to exudates released from the coral species Porites astreoides and Gorgonia ventalina.2022-11-10Final no updates expected
Incubation experiments were conducted in St. John, US Virgin Islands to investigate the response of reef seawater microbial communities to the mixed exudates released from the coral species Porites astreoides and Gorgonia ventalina.2022-11-10Final no updates expected
Incubation experiments were conducted in St. John, US Virgin Islands to investigate the response of reef seawater microbial communities to the specific metabolites riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and caffeine.2022-11-10Final no updates expected
Flow cytometry and nutrient analyses data from a tidal study over 48 hours of mangrove, seagrass, and seawater from the US Virgin Islands in July of 20172019-12-09Final no updates expected
Diel, daily, and spatial variation of coral reef seawater microbial communities from US Virgin Islands, 20172019-08-12Final no updates expected

People

Principal Investigator: Amy Apprill
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Contact: Amy Apprill
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)


Data Management Plan

DMP_OCE-1736288_Apprill.pdf (361.78 KB)
02/09/2025