Coral Health around Hawai‘i Island Cross-Cutting Meta-analysis of Environmental, Ecological, and Genomic Data

Overview

We propose to collate data from ECOGEM and ENDER that pertain to coral reef health and develop a geospatial analysis of these data within the CYBER framework.  The components of our collaborative project will operate at the interfaces of three EPSCoR teams as detailed below and synthesize data, new as well as those already collected, among teams. DEW will assist in recruiting and supporting undergraduate students and linking this effort to outreach opportunities and resources.

Research Plan, Expected Products, and Milestones <See Fig. 1 attached>

1.   

CY-EN interface

·      

Gather comprehensive set of ecological and environmental data, terrestrial and marine, that would potentially affect coral reef health 

·      

Determine how to group these data for statistical analysis and creation of GIS layers for spatial representation of data collected from Hawai‘i Island sites. 

·      

Identify data protocols and standards for GIS applications. 

·      

Develop visualization tools to display key ENDER and ECOGEM data in CYBER framework at several spatial scales (Hawai‘i Island, West Hawai‘i coastline, site, reef, coral colony) 

2.   

EC-EN interface

·      

Identify target genes potentially informative of immune system functional capacity of Montipora capitata, a Hawaiian endemic coral, developed as a model system 

·      

Examine expression microarray hybridization results from corals exposed to various stressor types to narrow the selection of target genes 

·      

Collect preliminary coral samples from ENDER sites for pilot array hybridization

3.   

EC-CY interface

·      

Add a layer frame that will include coral stress levels to the above GIS datasets for visualization of coral stress in relation to environmental parameters. 

4.   

CY-EC-EN interface

·      

Upload alpha version of all above data on the map-based framework on ESPCoR website into the Hawaiʻi Geospatial Data Repository. Develop a test web portal to facilitate data display and visualization to team members.  

Completed

•      

Compilation of ‘Coral Health Atlas’ dataset. The dataset compiled data from several EPSCoR projects pertaining to the following primary categories (Fig. 2):

•      

Water quality

•      

Fish data

•      

Coral health

•      

Georeferencing of data for pilot spatial analyses

•      

Several interpolations (Fig. 3& 4) have been conducted in order to determine the best manners for displaying as well as spatially analyzing the data.

To Be Completed

•      

Develop protocols and standards for data repository to enable meta-analyses

•      

The ‘Coral Health Atlas’ dataset is currently being used as a pilot dataset for use with the EPSCoR data repository

•      

Create web-based visualization tools to display findings

•      

Interactive video and photos are being compiled and collected from the study sites. Seamless 360 degree panoramic photos will be uploaded to the ESRI based interactive website. This will enable digital exploration of each study site as well as the compiled data.

Compare to "Research Plan, Expected Products, and Milestones <See Fig. 1 attached>

1.    CY-EN interface

·       Gather comprehensive set of ecological and environmental data, terrestrial and marine, that would potentially affect coral reef health [Completed]

·       Determine how to group these data for statistical analysis and creation of GIS layers for spatial representation of data collected from Hawai‘i Island sites. [In Progress]

·       Identify data protocols and standards for GIS applications. [In Progress]

·       Develop visualization tools to display key ENDER and ECOGEM data in CYBER framework at several spatial scales (Hawai‘i Island, West Hawai‘i coastline, site, reef, coral colony) [In Progress - have graphic tools]

2.    EC-EN interface

·       Identify target genes potentially informative of immune system functional capacity of Montipora capitata, a Hawaiian endemic coral, developed as a model system [In Progress]

·       Examine expression microarray hybridization results from corals exposed to various stressor types to narrow the selection of target genes [Completed]

·       Collect preliminary coral samples from ENDER sites for pilot array hybridization [In Progress - in negotiation with DAR to seek collection permit]

3.    EC-CY interface

·       Add a layer frame that will include coral stress levels to the above GIS datasets for visualization of coral stress in relation to environmental parameters. [In Planning]

4.    CY-EC-EN interface

·       Upload alpha version of all above data on the map-based framework on ESPCoR website into the Hawaiʻi Geospatial Data Repository. Develop a test web portal to facilitate data display and visualization to team members.  [In Progress]

This seed research will expand beyond the Seed Period, supported by EPSCoR and other grants, to create the below tools for communities and managers to predict future scenarios of coral health based on changing environmental parameters.

·      

Comprehensive meta-analysis of Hawaiʻi Island environmental, ecological, and sociological data, not only from EPSCoR but from other sources

·      

Compilation of diverse datasets into one data repository to facilitate modeling, analysis and act as a foundation for future studies

·      

Detailed quantification of molecular level immunological stress using transcriptomic and qPCR assays on M. capitata

·      

Coral health indices based on coral transciptomic data of immunological genes