| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 17, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 27, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1216165 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Michael Sieracki
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | June 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $299,120.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $327,568.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2014 = $28,448.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2105 AGGIE ROAD JONESBORO AR US 72401 (870)972-2694 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
PO Box 2760 State University AR US 72467-2760 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, BE-UF: ECOL OF INFECTIOUS DISE |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
The ocean covers most of the planet and harbors most of the Earth?s biomass and diversity, including that found within the so-called 'rainforests of the sea', coral reefs, that supports more species per area than any other ecological system. Current research on diseases in coral reef systems focuses primarily on corals and sponges, the major invertebrate architects of reefs, and how these diseases contribute to morbidity and mortality of such organisms, causes that in turn result in major shifts in community structure. Yet an estimated 80% of the organisms on coral reefs are parasites, which, like terrestrial systems, include many arthropods. The study of animal parasites and diseases has historically been the realm of pathologists, veterinary scientists, and animal husbandry professionals, while at the same time attracting the attention of some evolutionary biologists. Given that parasitism is the most common animal lifestyle and that many diseases are either caused or transmitted by parasites, it is therefore surprising that, historically, few ecologists and environmental biologists have addressed the links among such. However, there has been considerable interest in recent years in the interface between ecology and disease biology: understanding the link between biotic and abiotic environmental factors and the dynamics of diseases and their vectors. Thus, research in marine systems is particularly needed to achieve a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the ecology of diseases. Arguably the most ecologically important among these are gnathiid isopods. Common members of the benthic zooplankton community, they are the major ectoparasite of reef fishes and main food item for cleaner organisms. As with their terrestrial blood-feeding counterparts (e.g., ticks and mosquitoes), they have been shown to transmit protozoan parasites to fish hosts. The ultimate goal of this project is to understand the effects of changes in benthic community structure of coral reefs and host density on the abundance of ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods, the per capita risk of infestation of gnathiids on fish hosts, and the prevalence of protozoan and other diseases of fish hosts in the Caribbean. The principal investigators propose to determine the range of Caribbean hosts for haemogregarine protozoans and test the important assumption that Caribbean gnathiid isopods also transmit them.
Broader Impacts: This research will support undergraduate and undergraduate students and their interactions within multiple institutions, including Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, University of the Virgin Islands, and University of Puerto Rico. It will further build on existing relationships with local US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico resource managers and K-12 schools and will contribute to their local economies. Finally, it will foster collaboration with scientists in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Parasitism is the most common lifestyle among living organisms, yet parasites are typically ignored in studies of ecological systems where they can have profound effects. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and complex ecosystems on the planet where up to 80% of species may be parasitic. This study focused on two types of parasitic organisms infecting coral reef fishes - apicomplexans and gnathiid isopods.
Apicomplexans are single-celled organisms, many of which infect the blood cells of other organisms. While we know a lot about apicomplexans such as malaria and toxoplasmosis and their effects on animals on land, we know very little about those infecting marine organisms.
Gnathiid isopods are often referred to as mosquitoes or ticks of the sea becauase of their close resemblance and habit of feeding on the blood of fishes. Just as mosquitoes are known to transmit blood parasites in animals on land, gnathiids are suspected of transmitting blood parasites, including malaria-like apicomplexans, in fishes.
The specific objectives of this study were to: 1) Determine which species of coral reef fishes in the Eastern Caribbean Sea are infected by blood parasites; 2) Assess whether gnathiid isopods might serve as vectors for some of these; 3) Develop molecular techniques for detecting the presence of blood parasites in coral reef fishes (historically, assessment has been done exclusively by microscopy); and 4) identify the best means of collecting gnathiid isopods for long-term monitoring studies.
The highlights of the study were: 1) From 1298 individual fish sampled from among 6 Caribbean islands, representing 103 species from 27 families, 14 species from 8 families were infected. These included damselfishes (Pomacentridae), parrotfishes (Scaridae), mullet (Mugilidae), jacks (Carangidae), blennies (Blenneidae and Labrisomidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), and angelfishes (Pomacanthidae); 2) None of the 8 distinct blood parasites found fit descriptions of other Caribbean parasites but were similar to some blood parasites from fishes from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Australia; 3) The high incidence of infection in Stegastes damselfish was particularly surprising, given how common and widely studied they are; 4) Gnathiid isopods were common at sampling sites and collected for use in transmission experiments. Blood parasites were taken up by gnathiids that fed on infected blennies but not by those that fed on infected damselfish; 5) Molecular methods were developed that accurately detected the presence of blood parasites in damselfishes and blennies; 6) Light traps were found to be an efficient means of collecting gnathiids from multiple sites as part of long term monitoring studies; 7) Gnathiids collected from light traps were often attached to and ultimately killed settlement-stage fishes, indicating that gnathiids can be a significant cause of death in juvenile coral reef fishes.
Conclusions and future directions: This study reveals the high biodiversity of blood parasites infecting eastern Caribbean reef fishes and highlights the need for additional research throughout the Caribbean and in other tropical reef systems. While there is evidence that gnathiid isopods are responsible for transmission of blood parasites in blennies, whether they are involved in transmission of other blood parasites is unclear and needs to be investigated. Moreover, it is unclear what effects these blood parasites have on their host fishes.
Independent of their role as vectors, the high abundance of gnathiid isopods means that they have the potential to significantly impact fish populations through blood loss. Thus, studies that examine the factors that influence their population sizes are needed.
Research team and benefits to society: This project was a collaboration involving 5 lead investigators, 20 undergraduate students, and 7 graduate students from Arkansas, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It also involved 10 middle school students, five citizen scientist volunteers, and two artists. Over half of the participants were from under-represented groups. Given the potential impacts of parasites on coral reef fish communities, the importance of coral reefs to marine biodiversity, and the dependence of millions of people on resources provided by coral reefs, the results of this study will aid both in our understanding of and ability to effectively manage coral reefs. Moreover, given the similarities with mosquito and tick-borne blood parasites, the techniques developed and training provided with this study will contribute to our understanding of certain human diseases.
In addition to scientific publications, this project contributed to several popular articles, two films, multiple guest lectures, and production of a series of hand-painted shirts featuring one of our newly-discovered species of parasites.
Web link to film: "Ripple": https://vimeo.com/139351650
Web link to interview with Paul Sikkel during Sea and Learn on the island of Saba: https://vimeo.com/65182269
Last Modified: 11/02/2016
Modified by: Paul Sikkel
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