BIOREPOSITORY 

Advisor: Terry Donaldson, Ph.D.

Students assigned to the Biorepository function essentially as curatorial assistants. In this role they will participate in the collection and curation of specimens, following iDigBio protocols, tissue preservation, whole organism preservation, photographic documentation, 2-D and 3-D scanning for digitization of images of whole organisms or structures, data base utilization and maintenance, analysis of data, assistance with manuscript preparation and maintenance of collections.

CORAL POPULATION GENOMICS 

Advisor:  David Combosch, Ph.D.

The Island Evolution Lab (IEL) is interested in basic and applied evolutionary questions in island settings. We are using genetic and genomic approaches (RAD-Seq, RNA-Seq and Genome re-sequencing) in combination with field work, observations, collections, and experimental manipulations to address original questions in population genetics, phylogenetics, phylogeography and molecular ecology to inform conservation, management and restoration. Within the EPSCoR GECCO framework, we are responsible for all things Coral Population Genomics, with a particular focus on local adaptations and regional connectivity. 

ECOLOGY AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF RED ALGAE ON TROPICAL REEFS 

Advisor: Tom Schils, Ph.D. 

Seaweeds are some of the most abundant and ecologically important organisms on tropical reefs. Crustose calcifying red algae (CCRA) are a group of seaweeds that deposit limestone just like stony corals. Certain CCRA are indicators for healthy reef systems as they are important ecosystem engineers and provide essential recruitment substrates for various invertebrate organisms. Other CCRA are protagonists of ecosystem transitions related to reef degradation. We use an integrated approach to study the diversity, ecology, and population genetic structure of CCRA communities in Guam and Micronesia.

COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY AND BIOLOGICAL-PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS 

Advisor: Atsushi Fujimura, Ph.D.

Marine organisms and their environment interact in many ways. The research is twofold: describing environmental variables and investigating physiological response to the environment. Research methods include but not limited to: in-situ physical/chemical oceanographic observation, remote sensing, numerical modeling, benthic survey, in-situ and laboratory biological experiment, and measurement of biological parameters. 

CORAL AND MARINE MICROBIOLOGY: 

Advisor: Heloise Rouze, Ph.D.

Microbiome communities of the emerging coral model systems will be characterized along environmental gradients to infer microbiome diversity and function. Reciprocal transplant experiments will be used to test how flexible the microbiomes are in adapting to local conditions and their role in coral health. Combining detailed environmental characterizations of micro-habitats with genomic characterizations of coral microbiome communities will allow insights into the role of microbiomes in coral resilience.

MARINE ECOPHYSIOLOGY

Advisor: Ciemon Caballes, Ph.D.

Functional physiological traits of corals will be investigated in controlled lab and field experiments to understand their role in coral health and resilience. For example, the modulating effects of water flow on coral gene expression, symbiont photophysiology, and harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and build-up in coral tissues will be studied to quantify the effect of habitat on the coral response to stress. Our aim is to identify the environmental drivers that modulate differences in coral host and symbiont resilience to elevated rising sea surface temperatures.

CORAL MOLECULAR ECOLOGY 

Advisor: Bastian Bentlage, Ph.D. 

Corals represent complex organisms comprised of a host, photosynthetic symbiont’s, and a complex community of bacterial and fungal micro-organisms that all interact with each other in determining the response of corals to environmental change. Understanding these interactions involves characterizing the diversity of this symbiotic community and understanding their physiological responses to environmental stimuli. Students will rely on field and wet-lab experiments to investigate how the coral host-symbiont community is affected by environmental change. Metabarcoding and genomics as well as gene expression studies will be used to generate datasets that will be analyzed using data intensive bio-informatics approaches. 

CORAL ECOLOGY: PHENOTYPIC TRAITS OF REEF RESILIENCE 

Advisor: Laurie Raymundo, Ph.D.

Globally, corals are experiencing environmental change and anthropogenic impacts faster than ever before in their evolutionary history. My work centers on developing coral restoration techniques for Guam’s coral reefs that optimize success. This involves understanding both environmental and genetic factors impacting both ocean nursery culture and out-planting survival and reestablishment. These factors include water quality, depth and flow, temperature, disease, recruitment, interactions with other organisms, and population-level genetic diversity. 

POPULATION GENOMICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF NATIVE DIADROMOUS FAUNA 

Advisor: Bastian Bentlage, Ph.D.

My research focuses on diverse native aquatic taxa that show one of three diadromous life history patterns (catadromy, anadromy or amphidromy) which demand that they spend part of their life stages in both fresh and marine waters with abilities to disperse long distances at sea. They are represented by teleost fishes, decapod shrimp and nerite snails that spend part of their life in the streams of southern Guam and other regional high islands. We will be collecting from various watersheds on Guam and elsewhere to elicit population structure and biogeographical patterns using various genetic techniques with a range of specificities depending on species. 

CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY

Advisor: Robert Lasley, Ph.D.

Despite hundreds of years of exploration, most of the world’s marine invertebrate fauna remains unknown. For many groups of organisms, even the most fundamental knowledge—i.e., “what is it?”—has not been studied. Documenting this baseline data is imperative, especially given the current biodiversity crisis. We focus on discovering, documenting, and disseminating data on Guam’s diverse crustacean fauna. We do field collections, curation, and biodiversity research. Students will conduct field surveys (SCUBA, intertidal, snorkel, etc.) to build a list of crustaceans in Guam and/or conduct taxonomic, phylogenetic, or biogeographic research on their favorite marine species.

VERTEBRATE MORPHOLOGY

Advisor: Diego Vaz, Ph.D.

Fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrate animals, accounting for more than 35 thousand species, more than half of all vertebrate diversity. Fishes are present in almost every aquatic environment and display a wide variety of adaptations that enabled them to explore almost every niche available. Recognizing which morphological features allow adaptation of a species to a particular location is an essential task to infer how these organisms can react to a constantly changing environment, particularly caused by climate change. The understanding of morphological variation also enables inferences on evolutionary relationships among different groups of fish, the identification of current fish diversity, and the recognition of new species to science. Students will learn and use multiple techniques, from manual dissections to high technological computed tomography (CT-scan), to investigate these multiple morphological aspects of coral-reef fishes. Students will also have the opportunity to learn and use genetic tools to complement their investigations.