NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Australia

Ober Gordon, Saunderstown RI

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Gordon Ober of the University of Rhode Island to conduct a research project, entitled "Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Marine Algae," during the summer of 2012 at Griffith University in Nathan, Queensland, Australia. The host scientist is Dr. Guillermo Diaz-Pulido. The Intellectual Merit of the research project comes from investigating the effects of increased ocean acidification and temperature on the ecology of a tropical marine algal species that compete with coral species on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Ocean acidification and ocean warming are significant components of global climate change, and understanding how organisms respond to these changes is important to understanding how ecosystems may function under new climatic conditions. As the base of the food web, changes in growth and productivity of primary producers can have cascading effects throughout higher trophic levels, thereby potentially altering ecosystem assemblages and shifting community structure from coral-dominated to algal-dominated systems. Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. This research investigates how acidification alters coral reef ecosystems. Reefs are economically important in many countries. Coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef are magnets for eco-tourism and are sometimes the largest source of income for local communities.