About This Project

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What is the context of this research?

Ocean Acidification (OA) is caused by human-produced carbondioxide (CO2) getting absorbed by the oceans and increasing acidity. Without the oceans sucking up so much atmospheric CO2 (a quarter!) each year, global warming would be much worse. However, all of this extra CO2 in the oceans comes at a potential cost to marine life. Corals have been dubbed one of the most sensitive marine organisms to OA because one of the two key ingredients for making their skeletons, carbonate ions, starts to disappear as ocean pH drops. As OA intensifies, the beautiful and complex coral reef structures that blanket the tropics may become mere rubble fields in the future. However, it is possible that some corals will be able to cope with OA. Studies indicate that corals can adjust their physiology to changing conditions. But how do they do it? I am addressing this question by looking at coral metabolism, the set of chemical reactions in an organism that creates energy for processes like calcification, growth, and reproduction. Knowing how much energy corals are able to make under different conditions (such as during day and night and under different levels of ocean acidification) can tell us how those energy uses might change under future conditions. For the past year, I have been developing techniques for studying the metabolic rates in corals. But to continue this project, I need your help funding the next crucial steps.

What is the significance of this project?

This research is important because it addresses the issue of how corals respond to ocean acidification from a novel perspective. To date, coral studies have primarily used a limited set of techniques (e.g. measuring growth and weight, monitoring gene expression). However, many essential biological responses cannot be studied with those techniques. I propose to characterize coral metabolism, which is the central physiological process that creates energy to sustain life. My studies of how coral metabolism change under ocean acidification will help scientists construct mechanistic models to predict what will happen in the future. This information is crucial to informing management and policy decisions to help protect reefs.

What are the goals of the project?

The funds generated by your generous donations will be used to run laboratory experiments on corals to better understand how they respond to ocean acidification.