Elizabeth graduated from the University at Buffalo in May of 2019 with a Bachelors of Science in Biological Science. She concentrated in evolution and ecology and completed the University Honours program. Her thesis was entitled, Competitive Interactions Between Strains of Breviolum Antillogorgium Under Temperature Stress, and was completed under the supervision of Mary Alice Coffroth, Ph.D.
After graduating Elizabeth moved to Australia to pursue a graduate degree in marine science.
She enjoys diving, climbing, and hiking in her free time.

Investigating the Performance of Genetically Diverse Symbiodiniaceae in Mixed Cultures and Inoculations

2022 to 2024

Project Description

This project aims to assess the fitness and thermal tolerance of early life stage corals whilst in symbiosis with a range of Symbiodiniaceae cultures. Building off of previous studies where a coral host has been inoculated with a single symbiont strain, this project seeks to examine the effects of multiple thermally tolerant strains on a single host.

Project Importance

The results of this project will provide important information about the feasibility of using multiple symbiont strains during polyp inoculation. We will learn whether or not multiple types of symbionts can persist together in-hospite, as well as which strains are more prone to coexistence. We will also discover more about the persistence of multiple strains through thermal and temporal fluctuations, and if symbiont shuffling still occurs with laboratory evolved symbionts.

Project Methods

Juvenile Platygyra were inoculated with inoculated with wild type and heat-evolved strains of Cladocopium proliferum and Durusdinium trenchii. Monitoring was broken into three phases. Phase I followed the uptake and persistence of the different symbiont treatments and their effect on host performance. Phase II consisted on a heat-stress experiment, exposing corals to over 30 degree heating weeks. Phase III saw the remaining juvenile corals deployed back to their parental reef for long term monitoring of host performance and symbiont persistence.
Measurements such as survival, size, reflectance (proxy for pigmentation), and quantum yield provided information on the fitness of the holobiont.
Relative abundance of symbiont strains was assessed using next generation sequencing.

Project Results

The first phase of this experiment showed that interactions between symbiont strains does alter host performance, with the effects being synergistic, neutral, or antagonistic depending on the specific strains present.
Preliminary results from Phase II have shown that hosting 2 heat evolved symbionts provides an extra 6 degree heating weeks of bleaching resilience when compared to hosting one heat evolved symbiont alone.
Preliminary results from Phase III have shown that heat evolved symbionts are still present one year post deployment.

Keywords

Algae,
Climate change,
Controlled Environment,
Coral reefs,
Corals,
Genetics,
Interaction,
Management tools,
Manipulative experiments,
Molecular techniques,
Ocean warming,
Physiology,
Quantitative marine science,
Temporal change