Smooth Sailing and an Underwater Lightshow

The EELab team has just returned from an expedition monitoring Acropora cervicornis, or staghorn corals, 8 months after a reciprocal transplant between two Reef Renewal nurseries on Bonaire.

With the same team members as in December, all went very smoothly with collecting coral and water samples from the nursery sites, photographing the fragments for growth, as well as conducting the overnight thermal stress experiment. An addition to the stress assay system, including a powerful pump to bring seawater up the stairs at the Buddy Dive resort, was a welcome improvement to the previous system of carrying the buckets of water by hand. Serena was also able to improve the temperature control code for a fully automated temperature profile, exposing half of the coral nubbins to thermal stress while keeping half of them at ambient temperatures for comparison.  

Once the coral samples collected during this trip are back in the lab, in addition to measurements of coral performance, Serena also hopes to analyze the genes being expressed by different corals. This will provide a better understanding of the cellular and physiological differences between corals grown in different environments. This analysis will also help describe the molecular mechanisms that can help corals “remember” prior exposure to different environmental conditions. As corals don’t have a nervous system with a brain to hold actual memories, the EELab team predicts that this “memory” must be maintained by differences at the cellular level. Mechanisms likely involved in coral environmental memory include epigenetic modifications that can change and also maintain different patterns of gene expression (e.g., certain genes turned “on” while others are turned “off”) in response to the environment.   

Given the timing of this trip near the full moon, the team was able to add a very unique night dive to the schedule. A few days after the full moon, about an hour after sunset, the reefs of Bonaire host a spectacular light show. After watching a beautiful Bonaire sunset and suiting up, the team swam out over the reef to a sandy patch between corals. Next came the slightly scary part- turning all flashlights OFF. Settled on the bottom of the ocean in complete darkness, a swipe of a hand resulted in a glittering display of bioluminescence (“light produced from living things”) from microscopic plankton. But this was just the opening act. After a few minutes of darkness, the previously-dark reef seemed to come alive with sparkles of light appearing and quickly disappearing in every direction. Ostracods, tiny crustaceans, produce blue/green bioluminescent chemicals in a spiral shape during their spawning or “mating” ritual and Bonaire is one of the few places in the Caribbean where this show can be witnessed. This dive was a special treat for all of the team members as most had never seen anything like it before.  

This work has been made possible by support from Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire, FIU CREST-CAChE, The Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research, and the Iberostar Wave of Change Rebuilding Coral Reefs Scholarship. 

Bottom Time with Alyxandra Cicerrella

I am a senior at FIU majoring in biology (B.S.) with a minor in chemistry. I am interested in micro and molecular biology, especially in genetics and the factors that influence gene expression. I joined EELab under the supervision of Serena Hackerott to gain experience in epigenetic analysis to better understand the influence that environmental factors have on genetic expression.

How did you become interested in the biology of corals?

I became interested in the biology of corals after a few semesters of teaching about climate change. Everyone knows that our reefs are dying, but not as much action is taking place to fix the problem. I think that understanding the biology of corals will give us a better chance at combatting the problems associated with climate change.  

What has been your favorite part about working on this project? 

My favorite part about working on this project has been the work done in the lab. I like being able to visually see the progress we are making when we process the corals. I like collecting the data that we are going to analyze, because I want to understand the results that we are finding throughout all of the processes that we are completing.  

How will your involvement in this project impact your future scientific development? 

My involvement already has impacted my future scientific development. I used to think that all marine biology was about turtles, dolphins, and sharks, but now I know that’s not true. I still have other interests, but I am looking into research that uses corals as the model organism, in addition to other organisms. I realized, through working on this project, that the goals I have for myself are attainable, and I now have a better idea of how to attain them.  

What are your suggestions to other undergraduate students considering a career in marine biology? 

My suggestion would be to get involved in projects that mean something to them. Being involved in any research is good, but they will get the most out of it if the project is meaningful to them. Figure out early on if you get seasick, and if you like field work. Even if you do get seasick, and you don’t like field work, you can still be a marine biologist. Marine biology is not limited to the sea turtles and sharks that we all hear about there are so many other species to study.  

Alyxandra Cicerrella Environmental Epigenetics Lab

My favorite part about working on this project has been the work done in the lab. I like being able to visually see the progress we are making when we process the corals. I like collecting the data that we are going to analyze, because I want to understand the results that we are finding throughout all of the processes that we are completing.