RUI: Collaborative Research: Cleaning stations as hubs for the maintenance and recovery of microbial diversity on coral reefs.

RUI：合作研究：清洁站作为珊瑚礁微生物多样性维护和恢复的中心。

• 批准号: 2023420
• 负责人: Paul Sikkel
• 金额: $ 24.73万
• 依托单位: Arkansas State University Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-03-01 至 2022-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2023420&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Collaborative; Research; Cleaning; stations

Biodiversity in the ocean is influenced by interactions between disparate organisms which ultimately shape population, community, and ecosystem dynamics. Symbiotic interactions involving subsets of species can have disproportionate impacts on communities, reaching well beyond each interacting species. Coral reefs host some of the most iconic symbiotic interactions in nature and are host to the highest diversity of life on the planet. Cleaning symbiosis, wherein small fish or shrimp remove external parasites and associated microorganisms from specific clients, is common on coral reefs. Sites on the reef occupied by cleaners, or “cleaning stations”, attract a wide variety of fish species that engage in direct physical contact with the cleaner. These highly used territories are viewed both as “clinics of the sea”, where parasitized and sickly fish seek the service of cleaners, but also as potential “garbage dumps”, where unnecessary parasites and other microorganisms are removed. This project seeks to understand the role of cleaning symbiosis transferring microbes in coral reef environments. This research supports training for U.S. graduate students and for undergraduates from Arkansas State University, a primarily undergraduate institution that includes a large population of first-generation college students. These students participate in field site research and have opportunities to visit the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for broader exposure to ocean science and more specific laboratory training. The project strengthens international collaboration and further builds on the existing relationships between the team of scientists and resource managers, local divers, fishers, and boat operators, as well as K-12 schools and environmental education programs, and will therefore contribute to local economies. Outreach efforts include a film highlighting this research and publicly accessible narratives shared through press releases and an on-line magazine.While the benefits of cleaning to reef ecosystem health have been extensively studied, the cleaning costs for cleaner species and the role of cleaning stations as potential sinks for microbial diversity and possibly even pathogens have never been assessed. Here, the researchers utilize the unique features of cleaning stations to understand transfer of bacterial and archaeal symbionts amongst fish and within coral reef environment. The study capitalizes on cleanerfish access to multiple variety of hosts or clients within stations to address new questions about how cleanerfish act as vectors to transfer microorganisms between hosts on a reef and if and how these microorganisms may play a broader functional role in reef resilience. Specifically, the project addresses the following hypotheses: 1) Cleanerfishes serve as keystone regulators of microbial communities, enhancing microbial community diversity and transferring key microbial species between clients, and 2) Cleanerfishes are a particularly important contributor to reef resilience, facilitating recovery of the microbiome following disturbance. The research team uses an integrative interdisciplinary approach involving field and laboratory observations and experiments, and molecular-based tools. The core research team includes experts in cleaning mutualisms, fish behavior, coral reef ecology, and microbial ecology. The proposed project aims to link behavior of individual organisms with ecosystem-level process.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.

海洋中的生物多样性受到不同生物体之间的相互作用的影响，这些相互作用最终塑造了种群、群落和生态系统的动态。物种的共生相互作用子集可能对群落产生不成比例的影响，其影响远远超出了一些最具标志性的共生物种的范围。自然界中的相互作用，是地球上生物多样性最高的地方，小鱼或虾可以清除特定客户的外部寄生虫和相关微生物，这在珊瑚礁上很常见。清洁工或“清洁站”吸引了多种与清洁工直接身体接触的鱼类，这些高度使用的区域被视为“海洋诊所”，寄生的和生病的鱼在那里寻求清洁工的服务。 ，但也作为潜在的“垃圾场”，去除不必要的寄生虫和其他微生物。该项目旨在了解清洁共生转移微生物在珊瑚礁环境中的作用。面向阿肯色州立大学的本科生，该大学主要是本科生机构，其中包括大量第一代大学生。这些学生参与实地研究，并有机会参观伍兹霍尔海洋研究所，更广泛地接触海洋科学和更具体的实验室。该项目加强了国际合作，并进一步建立了科学家和资源管理者团队、当地潜水员、渔民和船舶经营者以及 K-12 学校和环境教育项目之间的现有关系，因此将为当地做出贡献。外展工作包括一部强调经济的电影。这项研究以及通过新闻稿和在线杂志分享的公开叙述。虽然清洁对珊瑚礁生态系统健康的好处已被广泛研究，但清洁物种的清洁成本以及清洁站作为微生物多样性和潜在汇的作用在这里，研究人员利用清洁站的独特功能来了解鱼类和珊瑚礁环境中细菌和古菌共生体的转移，该研究利用了清洁鱼接触清洁站内多种宿主或客户的机会。解决有关的新问题清洁鱼如何作为媒介在珊瑚礁上的宿主之间转移微生物，以及这些微生物是否以及如何在珊瑚礁恢复力中发挥更广泛的功能作用。具体来说，该项目提出了以下假设：1）清洁鱼作为微生物群落的关键调节者，增强了珊瑚礁的恢复能力。微生物群落多样性和在客户之间转移关键微生物物种，以及 2) 清洁鱼对珊瑚礁的恢复能力特别重要，有助于在干扰后恢复微生物组。该项目旨在将个体生物体的行为与生态系统水平联系起来。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。