| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 10, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 21, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1245766 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Paco Moore
fbmoore@nsf.gov (703)292-5376 OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $381,384.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $381,384.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
5717 CORBETT HALL ORONO ME US 04469-5717 (207)581-1484 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
ME US 04469-5717 |
| 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): | ANT Organisms & Ecosystems |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| 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): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
The Western Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing climate change at one of the fastest rates of anywhere around the globe. Accelerated climate change is likely to affect the many benthic marine invertebrates that live within narrow temperature windows along the Antarctic Continental Shelf in presently unidentified ways. At present however, there are few data on the physiological consequences of climate change on the sensitive larval stages of cold-water corals, and none on species living in thermal extremes such as polar waters. This project will collect the larvae of the non-seasonal, brooding scleractinian Flabellum impensum to be used in a month-long climate change experiment at Palmer Station. Multidisciplinary techniques will be used to examine larval development and cellular stress using a combination of electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectometry. Data from this project will form the first systematic study of the larval stages of polar cold-water corals, and how these stages are affected by temperature stress at the cellular and developmental level.
Cold-water corals have been shown to be important ecosystem engineers, providing habitat for thousands of associated species, including many that are of commercial importance. Understanding how the larvae of these corals react to warming trends seen today in our oceans will allow researchers to predict future changes in important benthic communities around the globe. Associated education and outreach include: 1) Increasing student participation in polar research by involving postdoctoral and undergraduate students in the field and research program; ii) promotion of K-12 teaching and learning programs by providing information via a research website, Twitter, and in-school talks in the local area; iii) making the data collected available to the wider research community via peer reviewed published literature and iv) reaching a larger public audience through such venues as interviews in the popular media, You Tube and other popular media outlets, and local talks to the general public.
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.
Warming of the Earth's oceans is occurring at an unprecedented rate and scale due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. While ocean temperatures are predicted to increase across the global ocean during the 21st century, the most profound warming is expected to occur within Earth's polar regions. These predicted increases in Antarctic ocean temperatures may have broad impacts on resident fauna, particularly ectotherms. Generally speaking, many Antarctic species experience little thermal variation throughout their life histories and are largely unable to acclimate their physiology to elevated temperatures.
This study aimed to investigate how the larval development of Antarctic cold-water coral species might be affected by ocean warming trends predicted for the 21st century. The Antarctic deep-sea coral, Flabellum impensum, found on the Western Antarctic Peninsula Shelf, was used as a model for demonstrating the impacts of ocean warming on the larval development over a 44 day experimental duration. This species is a brooding, azooxanthellate, solitary species that is abundant in the muddy shelf environment.
F. impensum larvae extracted from adults collected from the WAP were cultured under four temperature treatments based on predicted warming trends for the 21st century and then settlement and mortality were compared across treatments. Larvae were sampled every 5 days for 44 days and prepared for Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Flow Cytometry to examine settlement, deformations, cell death and overall mortality.
The results were surprising, suggesting that larval development of F. impensum is largely resilient to ocean warming trends predicted for the 21st century. There were no significant differences in settlement or mortality, no significant differences in deformity scores, and neither time nor treatment was found to have a significant effect on the proportion of unhealthy cells. These results may shed light into the adaptability of scleractinian species in our changing oceans, and further research into longer term and genetic effects should be investigated urgently.
This project supported the research of 10 investigators including the PI (1 postdoc, 3 graduate students, 5 undergraduates). Of these 7 were women and 5 were from groups underrepresented in STEM disciplines. Results of this project were, and continue to be, disseminated broadly, through public outreach avenues and peer reviewed publications.
Last Modified: 12/22/2020
Modified by: Rhian G Waller
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