ThePoseidonProjectSquareOne

KateLoMedicoMarriott

2/19/2014

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WhatDangerareReefsIn?

Acombinationofman‐madeenvironmentalhazardsandnaturalprocessesintensifiedintoproblemsby

humanactivity,havemadereefcoralsextremelysusceptibletodisease.

Thisreefdemonstratesthecontrastbetweenhealthyfloraandtheirabsenceinbleaching.Source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/

UnderstandingCoralBleaching

Coralbleachingisthephenomenonmostnotoriousforplaguingreefs,inwhichthecoralslosetheir

colorandbecomewhite.Thecolorsthatreefcoralsareknownforareactuallynotafeatureofthecoralsthemselves.Instead,single‐celledalgaelivingonthecoralembedandcovertheexoskeleton,contributing,alongwiththeircolor,foodintheformofenzymesandlipidsthatthecoralcancovert

calciumcarbonatetogrowandrepairitsstonyskeleton.Inexchange,thecoralprovidesheltertotheanchoredalgae.Thismutualdependence,calledsymbiosis,hasbeenafundamentalpieceofthe

evolutionaryhistoryofboththecoralandthezooxanthellae.Duringtimesofbleaching,coralsejectthezooxanthellaeandgostressfulenvironmentalconditionsalone

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Thiscoralhasbegunbleaching.http://www.flickr.com/photos/epochcatcher/

Therearesomeverycommonmisconceptionsaboutthebleachingofreefs.Thefirstisthatthecoralisnotnecessarilydead:whileithaslostitsimmunesystemandfoodsupply,leavingithighlyvulnerabletodiseaseanddeath,temporalbleachingisfairlynormalincorals,and,providednewflorasoonreplace

thosewhichwereexpelled,thecoralshouldbounceback.Thesecondcontradictiontopopularbeliefisthatcoralbleachingisnotdirectlycausedbyoceanacidification.Coralsbecomestressedbyeventheslightestchangesintemperature,and,whenwater

warms(fromclimatechangeorevenElNino,intensesunlight,etc.),theyexpelthezooxantellae.Thinkofitlikehairlossfromstressorillhealth:thoughitevolvedforapurpose,sustainingitisnotthenumberonepriorityand,instressfulconditions,coralhaveevolvedtogetridoftheextraneous,much

likeus.

Ableachedcoraloutcrop.Source::http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/

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AcidificationDoesPlayAPart

Oncecoralshavebeencompletelypurgedofthezooxanthellae,theyareatriskofstarvationandan

inabilitytorecoverfromillnessorinjury.Acidification,theprocessbywhichcarbonatoms(thinkyourcarbonfootprint)areabsorbedbyseawater.Thiscarbon“steals”additionalcarbonfromessentiallyanymarineinvertebratewitha(calciumcarbonate)shell.Withoutzooxanthellae,coralsareunabletorepair

thisdamageandarelikelytodie.

Dr.SylviaEarleestimatesthatatleasthalfofallcoralreefsgloballyhavebeendestroyed,damagedbeyondrepair,orareonthebrinkofpermanentloss.Ascoralreefsaccountforanddirectlysustainaboutafifthofalllifeonearth,atotallossoftheseenvironmentswouldbedetrimentaltoallsurviving

life,includinghumans.

ThePoseidonProject

Theseaisnaturallysetuptoabsorbsomeamountofcarbonemissionfromthelandandair.Whenweexhale,weemitcarbon.Evenifyouwerethedarkestgreenpersonalive,thereisabsolutelynothingyoucandotocompletelydissolveyourowncarbonfootprint.Andthatisnormal,natural,andhealthy.

However,thesamecannotbesaidofyourcar,lights,heating,andbathtub.Theamountofcarbon

emittedsincethebeginningoftheIndustrialRevolutionhasgrownsoexponentiallythatthenaturalbalanceofwhattheoceancanhealthilyabsorbhasbeenviolentlyoffset,andthechemistryoftheseaand,byextension,marinelife,hangsinthebalance.

Inthisproposition,Iamworkingwithcoralandtheirphotosyntheticpartnersinsymbiosis,the

zooxanthellae,butsome,ifnotall,ofthesechangescouldpotentiallybeimplementedinothermarineinvertebrates.

Oceanacidificationiscausingsevereosteoporosis‐likesymptomsandeventotalshelldissolutioninmarineinvertebrates.(Google:“pteropodshell”.)Wehaveseenessentiallyanyanimalintheseawitha

shell(coral,mollusks,crustaceans,etc.)begintobecomeaffected,anditisanticipatedthat,astheoceancontinuestoacidifyasaresultofhumanactivity,asignificantportionofthesespecieswillastronomicallydwindleorbecomeextinct.

1. Coralcreatesanexoskeletonbysecretingcalciumcarbonate(themineralcalcite).

2. Theactualmolecularactivityinvolvedinoceanacidificationdemonstrateshowitgoesdeeperthantheseabeingsimply,“tooacidic”tosustaininvertebratelife.Free‐floatingcarbonatomsintheseahaveincreasedexponentially,andbecauseCarbonmustformabondedpair(C2)

ratherthanremainaloneatom,carbonis“stolen”fromcalciteexoskeleton‐buildinglifeinthesea.

3. Coralhaveasymbioticrelationshipwithzooxanthellae,single‐celledplants/algaewhichliveonthecoralexteriorandareresponsibleforcoralcolor.Thephotosyntheticactivityof

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zooxanthellaeisresponsiblefortheglucose,glycerol,andaminoacidsthatthecoralconvertsto

proteins,fats,andcarbohydratesinordertoproducecalciumcarbonate(calcite)tobuild,expand,andrepairtheexoskeleton.

4. PurpleseaurchinpopulationsinthePacificNorthwesthavebeenunaffectedbyocean

acidification.a. Transportoflipidsb. Intercellularionmovement

c. Smaller

Purpleseaurchinsaredoingwellinspiteofacidificationbecauseoftheircellactivity.Sourcehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/edbierman/

Itisexpectedthattheorganismsthatsurviveacidificationwillbetheoneswhoadaptrapidly,ifnotpreemptively,tothesechangesintheenvironmentalchemistryviachemicalchangesoftheirown.Butwhatifwetaughtzooxanthellaetotransporttheirproteinsandfatsinthesamewaythatthepurplesea

urchindoes,andtohaveamorerapidphotosyntheticprocess?Likeseaurchins,zooxanthellaeareinvolvedinthetransportofenzymesandfatsthatareturnedbythecoralintocalciumcarbonate.Byselectivebreedingofzooxanthellae,onecouldchangetherateofconversionsuchthatcoralswouldnot

expelthealgae,andwouldmuchbetteratrepairingdamagetoitsownexoskeletonfromacidification.Wecouldalsobreedcoralsforhardinessinhigherormoreinconsistentlightingandtemperatures.

TryItOut

YouarestronglyencouragedtogetinvolvedinthePoseidonProjectinanywayyoucan.Theprojectisa

completelyopen‐source,communalefforttosavethereefswhilethereisstilltime.WelimitourDNAmanipulationstoselectivebreeding/slightlycoaxedevolution,andseeourprojectasareserveforanall‐too‐possibleoceancollapse.Theselectivebreedingistwo‐fold:wearebreedingcoralsforhardinessin

warmer/inconsistenttemperaturesandlighting,andthezooxanthellaeforachangeintheirratesofproductionandreproduction.Beginningthissummer,wewillbepostinglogsandincreasinginformationontheexperiment.