The impact of an ever-present stressor on coral reef ecosystems
Ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the sun is considered the earliest factor influencing global species distributions. While UVR is necessary for many life processes, it can be very dangerous in high doses, which is why we apply sunscreen on sunny days. Coral reefs are shallow habitats that are exposed to some of the highest UVR levels on the planet, and as consequence reef life have developed strategies such as sheltering behavior (using complex coral habitat structure as refuge) and sunscreens to protect themselves. Reef fishes specifically lay their eggs in corals to shelter to protect embryos from UVR. But what if this habitat structure isn’t available? With valuable coral cover decreasing due to climate change, reef fishes may be forced to lay their eggs in less than ideal areas, pre-maturely exposing embryos to high levels of UVR. My post-doc research endeavors to investigate the adaptive capacity of embryonic and larval reef fishes to early exposure to UVR.
FIRST SET OF EXPERIMENTS IN PROGRESS!!!!
Dr. Adam T. Downie, PhD 