Coral health in future climates: Diagnosing tipping points under accelerating coastal hypoxia

Project Member(s): Suggett, D., Pernice, M.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Projects)
Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Projects)

Start year: 2018

Summary: Diagnosing coral health tipping points under accelerating coastal hypoxia. This project aims to unlock the role hypoxia plays in shaping the healthy functioning of corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs and amplifying hypoxia exposure, yet we have no knowledge of the oxygen thresholds that sustain ‘normal’ coral functioning, or the mechanisms corals’ employ to tolerate hypoxia. This project will couple advanced oxygen sensing, metabolic physiology and functional genomics techniques to transform our understanding of how corals and their associated microbial communities respond to reduced oxygen conditions, which is essential to improve coral reef ecosystem management.

Publications:

Suggett, DJ & Smith, DJ 2020, 'Coral bleaching patterns are the outcome of complex biological and environmental networking', Global Change Biology, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 68-79.
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Camp, EF, Edmondson, J, Doheny, A, Rumney, J, Grima, AJ, Huete, A & Suggett, DJ 2019, 'Mangrove lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef support coral populations persisting under extreme environmental conditions', Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 625, pp. 1-14.
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FOR Codes: Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water in Marine Environments, Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments, Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change, Ecological Physiology, Ecological Impacts of Climate Change, Invertebrate Biology, Invertebrate biology , Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation, Measurement and assessment of marine water quality and condition, Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.