NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Japan

Zamudio Sylvia, Van Nuys CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Sylvia Zamudio of California State University, Northridge to conduct a research project in Biology during the summer of 2013 at Sesoko Marine Lab/ University of the Ryukyus in Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. The project title is "The Adaptive Significance of Temperature-Induced Maternal Effects on the Phenotype of Larvae from a Tropical Coral." The host scientist is Dr. Kazuhiro Sakai. This project seeks to elucidate the effect that the maternal thermal environment of a scleractinian coral has on modulating the response of early life stages to thermal stress. Maternal effects on the phenotype of offspring will be induced by incubating maternal coral colonies at ambient and high temperatures that reflect ecologically relevant thermal shifts projected under climate change scenarios. The physiological response of offspring spawned from these colonies will be evaluated under thermal stress to assess the potential of maternal effects as a beneficial mechanism for offspring faced with environmental stressors. 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 present study will contribute to a body of research that works to characterize the impact that climate change will have on coral reefs. Such research is essential for the implementation of informed management strategies that attempt to preserve these ecosystems that have high economical value to the countries that they surround through the provision of coastal protection, fisheries, and ecotourism. This project contains broad applications significant to climate change research, thermal biology, population ecology and maternal effects studies. Personal emphasis is placed on the importance of utilizing research opportunities, such as those provided through EAPSI, to promote scientific knowledge through outreach and educational settings in order to make primary research more accessible to the general public. Previous research conducted in Taiwan will be integrated with this project in Japan as part of a larger framework that seeks to build collaborations between researchers in USA, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong. These collaborations aim to construct an integrated knowledge base that will elucidate the impact that climate change will have on coral reefs on a global scale.