A biologist from The University of Texas at Arlington is leading a new study aimed at quantifying how susceptible coral species are to disease by examining their immunity through a series of novel experiments and approaches.
Laura Mydlarz, associate professor of biology, is principal investigator of the project, titled “Immunity to Community: Can Quantifying Immune Traits Inform Reef Community Structure?” and funded by a two-year, $220,331 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences. Co-principal investigators are Marilyn Brandt, research associate professor of marine and environmental science at the University of the Virgin Islands, and Erinn Muller, staff scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla.
A biologist from The University of Texas at Arlington is leading a new study aimed at quantifying how susceptible coral species are to disease by examining their immunity through a series of novel experiments and approaches.
Laura Mydlarz, associate professor of biology, is principal investigator of the project, titled “Immunity to Community: Can Quantifying Immune Traits Inform Reef Community Structure?” and funded by a two-year, $220,331 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences. Co-principal investigators are Marilyn Brandt, research associate professor of marine and environmental science at the University of the Virgin Islands, and Erinn Muller, staff scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla.
During the past three decades, environmental changes – including global warming – have likely led to the sharp increase in coral disease in reefs around the world. Unhealthy coral reefs cannot support the fish and other forms of life that make reefs such vibrant and diverse ecosystems. Coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea are disease hotspots and many reefs have experienced population collapses due to outbreaks of disease, Mydlarz explained. Coral species vary in their susceptibility to disease, but the reasons behind this variation are unknown.
See more at: http://www.uta.edu/news/releases/2017/03/Mydlarz%20Coral%20Reefs.php#sthash.QHpMJLyQ.dpuf
Photo: Laura Mydlarz inspects corals at a reef off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands in October 2016. (Photo courtesy of Laura Mydlarz)
