Rohan Yadav (VI), Eshaan Jain (VI), Aarav Sonthalia (VI), Arjun Kapoor (V), Chloe Huang (V), Olivia Li (IV), Jack Shea (IV), Sarah Clevenger (IV)
Project Summary
Coral polyps have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, which are photosynthetic dinoflagellates that help corals absorb nutrients from their environment. Zooxanthellae are responsible for providing the coral with the requisite nutrients for survival, and typically assist the process of photosynthesis (NOAA).
Zooxanthellae play a major role in protecting and maintaining coral reefs; however, when there is a depleted amount of zooxanthellae present in the coral reefs, the coral begins to bleach and stress (NOAA). Our research team aims to extract and understand zooxanthellae so we can design a solution that will prevent premature coral reef death and increase coral reef longevity. If we can uncover patterns and trends in the change of zooxanthellae during horizontal transfer among individual corals housed near each other, we can make inferences about how global warming is affecting coral reefs in our oceans, and we plan to share our discoveries among the community. In order to uncover these trends, we will take samples of the coral and extract the zooxanthellae. We will then fingerprint their D.N.A. to record the various species of zooxanthellae in the coral. Once we establish a baseline library of zooxanthellae identities and quantities, we will develop further questions and parameters for measuring zooxanthellae community dynamics.
Thus far, the Coral group has designed a process for tank maintenance. We first measured a tank size and depth that would be habitable for our coral, and after obtaining an adequate tank, our group began developing a procedure to form a habitable system. Our weekly procedures incorporate a mechanism for tank maintenance. We start by checking the pH level to confirm the accurate acidity of the water. We then check the salinity to ensure that there is sufficient salt in the water — our desired salinity is around 35 ppt. Based on the salinity of the tank water, we then changed the water with a newly created saltwater substance. Unfortunately, our group’s first batch of coral died due to double acclimatization after we switched our tank. However, we have received a few species of coral dinoflagellates upon which we are testing our DNA extraction procedures in order to make sure they work when we test our next batch of coral.
Project Goals
- Develop our skills in laboratory techniques related to caring for corals and related creatures, for example, maintaining suitable pH and salinity levels in the tank.
- Use proper husbandry techniques to grow and propagate coral and use PCR and Gel Electrophoresis to discern different zooxanthellae species.
- Long Term: Understand horizontal zooxanthellae transfer in corals in order to help predict the potential effects of climate change on coral diversity.
Works Cited
"Timothy Swain, Luisa Marcelino, Et Al. Published In European Journal Of Psychology". Northwestern Engineering, 2018.
Ferrara, G. B., Murgia, B., Parodi, A. M., Valisano, L., Cerrano, C., Palmisano, G., ... & Sara, M. (2006). The assessment of DNA from marine organisms via a modified salting-out protocol. Cellular & molecular biology letters, 11, 155-160. Lin, S., Zhang, H., Hou, Y., Miranda, L., & Bhattacharya, D. (2006).
Development of a dinoflagellate-oriented PCR primer set leads to detection of picoplanktonic dinoflagellates from Long Island Sound. Applied and environmental microbiology, 72(8), 5626-5630.
Faculty Advisor
Ms. Mygas
Additional Information
We are the only IRT to work with live animals! This is a great way to explore your interests not only in conducting research but also in marine biology.
