| Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Apprill, Amy | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) | Principal Investigator |
| Gray, Laura | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) | Contact |
| Ake, Hannah | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
A list of the coral species sampled and the site locations for studies conducted on the partial SSU rRNA genes of bacteria and archaea from tissue samples produced using 515F/806RB primers. Samples were collected in the Federated States of Micronesia, Austrailia, and the Florida Keys.
Coral collection and processing
Coral fragments were collected by a scuba diver using a hammer and chisel during field sampling trips to Kapangamarangi Atoll, Micronesia (November 2012), Florida Keys, U.S.A. (May 2013) and Magnetic Bay, Australia (November 2013). Fragments were stored in a cooler containing ice until they were flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Fragments were obtained from 3 representative colonies of the following species: Porites lobata, Pocillopora verrucosa, Acropora humilis, Orbicella faveolata, Montastraea cavernosa, O. annularis, and Diploria strigosa. Fragments were shipped back to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and stored at -80 C until they were processed.
BCO-DMO Data Processing Notes:
-removed spaces and replaced with underscores
-reformatted column names to comply with BCO-DMO standards
-converted all lat/lons to decimal degrees
| File |
|---|
sampling_sites.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 1.60 KB) MD5:5c5e80b46bff7573b29957785143d6ea Primary data file for dataset ID 662096 |
| Parameter | Description | Units |
| species | Species of coral sampled | unitless |
| collection_site | Geographic location where sampling occurred | unitless |
| lat | Latitude; N is positive | decimal degrees |
| lon | Longitude; W is positive | decimal degrees |
| depth | Depth where sampling occurred | meters |
| colony_name | PI issued ID for the coral colony sampled | unitless |
| Website | |
| Platform | BIOS |
| Start Date | 2012-09-15 |
| End Date | 2016-08-31 |
| Description | High-throughput sequencing of small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes from marine environments.
Coral-bacterioplankton mesocosm experiments. |
Description from NSF award abstract:
Reef-building corals are in decline worldwide due in part to climate change and other human activities, and it is becoming increasingly important to understand what aspects of coral biology are degraded by environmental stress which then leads to coral mortality. It is now widely known that corals harbor communities of bacteria and archaea that are believed to play important roles in maintaining the health of their hosts, but we lack any appreciable understanding about the identity of the microbial associates regularly residing within healthy, reef-building corals. This project asks the central question: do reef-building corals harbor fundamental or persistent microbial associates that are symbiotic within their tissues? In order to address this hypothesis, the investigator will assess the identity of the bacterial and archaeal microbes using a variety of molecular and microscopy approaches that includes the identification and localization of a widespread group of coral bacterial associates belonging to the genus Endozoicomonas. The results of this study will then be used to develop additional questions about the role of these microbial associates in nutrient cycling and how they contribute to the health and survival of corals.
| Funding Source | Award |
|---|---|
| NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) |