Project: EAGER: Can ancient DNA illuminate the fate of Caribbean reefs?

NSF Award Abstract:
The investigator has recently demonstrated that ancient DNA (aDNA) from coral as well as coral-associated microbes can be sequenced from coral fragments up to six thousand years old. These fragments can be readily obtained from reef cores kept in geological collections. In this EAGER, the investigator is expanding these results and comparing corals and their microbes from two geographic regions and over the past few thousand years. By demonstrating the potential of aDNA as a useful tool to unravel the history of coral populations, the project may open up a new scientific field around coral aDNA studies. Outreach includes press releases, social media posts, public lectures, and potentially a documentary film. The project is supporting a female graduate student and an undergraduate student from an underrepresented background.

Focusing on the most important Caribbean reef-building coral species, Acropora palmata, the investigator is attempting to detect differences in the genetic composition of coral populations and their associated microbial communities between two locations and two time periods that are the most likely to show an eco-evolutionary transition. Specifically, they are using cores from two locations that harbor genetically disparate A. palmata populations, Florida and US Virgin Islands, and time periods bounding a "reef gap" 3,300-2,900 years ago, when A. palmata populations are thought to have collapsed. They are also establishing the hybridization capture protocol to enrich samples with coral aDNA and attempting to sequence aDNA from the second most-important Caribbean reef builder, Orbicella faveolata.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.