Research Portfolio

This paper helps establish the relationship that Aiptasia and coral have together based on their symbiosis with dinoflagellates. They did this by comparing the genes of Aiptasia, more specifically the horizontal gene transfer. First looking at the genetic similarity, Aiptasia has about 26% repeated sequences of DNA which is somewhat the other cnidarians, its phylum. Through their data analysis of the DNA, they were able to contribute to how the dinoflagellate endosymbiosis functions on a protein level which is important for understanding how coral reefs operate.

This study was able to further prove why Aiptasia is a model organism for coral. Through visual observations and genetic analysis they provided correlations of symbiotic relationships

A german research group sampled eelgrass from the northern baltic waters to test how genotypic diversity can buffer warming waters. This is crucial as climate models show an increase in the future in harsh heat waves which could damage coastal ecosystems as the eelgrass is an ecological engineer and fundamental keystone species that provides for the food web in the surrounding waters. Through their research they were able to determine that there was a 44% loss in eelgrass shoots in 25C degree water compared to ambient water temperature. 25C is significant due to its correlation to the heatwave that happened in 2003. The researchers determined through their research that maintaining variation is crucial for building the resilience in these ecosystems so they will not collapse under sustained periods of heat.

This paper provided a literature review on the the species coccolithophores. They looked at multiple aspect of the coccolithophores mostly in respect to how it calcifies under different environments. In the end for E. huxleyi the main factor for blooming was the lighting conditions both for photosynthesis and for calcification however calcification requires lower light levels.