Project: The impact of a large episodic disturbance on an invasive (outbreak) coral: Will Typhoon Maysak promote or suppress an invasive Montipora sp. Coral on reefs of Ulithi Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia?

Extracted from the NSF award abstract:

Ulithi Atoll, in the Federated States of Micronesia, is the fourth largest Atoll in the world, and was an important staging area for the US Navy 3rd fleet during WWII. The Atoll contains dynamic coral reefs, and communities of people that depend on them. Ulithi has been subjected to a number of human and natural disturbances, including Typhoon Ophelia that hit in 1960. Local fishermen believe that this event started an invasion process by a 'weedy' invasive coral that covers reefs, and removes essential habitat for fish and octopus, potentially threatening these ecosystems. Four years ago, local people invited the investigators to Ulithi to study the reefs and work together to enhance fisheries and reef health. The investigators sequenced the invading coral DNA and identified it as a new species of Montipora. However, its invasion dynamics remain a mystery. In early April 2015, Ulithi was hit again by a major disturbance: super Typhoon Maysak. The Typhoon destroyed most structures on the island, and removed much of the coral formations visible from shore. Using their baseline data of the past four years, the investigators, along with a team of students, seek to map the effect of the Typhoon on the invasive Montipora. Using genomic sequencing, they hope to better understand the role of Typhoon Maysak on the establishment and dispersal of this invasive coral. This project provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of a rare event, and invasion processes, and to broadly disseminate findings, raising awareness about coral reefs, climate change, and unique human-natural coupled systems. 

Super typhoon Maysak struck Ulithi Atoll on March 31, 2015, where an invasive/outbreak species of Montipora has affected shallow coral reefs over at least the last 50 years. The research the investigators propose will elucidate the effects of this rare but high impact event on a biological invasion using genomics and reef sampling to investigate Micronesian reefs that were dominated by Montipora before the typhoon, and more 'pristine' reefs where Montipora was absent or in low densities. The investigators will be relating these findings to existing data that were collected from these sites over the past four years. These studies will advance our understanding of biological invasions in coral reef systems, explore the unusual occurrence of a coral species as an outbreak organism, and contribute to our knowledge of how high impact, episodic disturbances - likely to increase in frequency with the advance of global climate change - may affect threated coral reef ecosystems world-wide.