Ultraviolet radiation induced DNA damage in coral reef microbial communities Principal Investigator: Wade H. Jeffrey, PhD Support Agency: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration National Undersea Research Program. Location of Study: Key Largo, FL

Coral reef ecosystems, including the Florida Keys, are declining at unprecedented rates . These environments are commercially very important and their decline could prove financially devastating to local economies and have deleterious effects on coastal ecological stability and quality. Because of their sensitivity to climatic and anthropogenically induced stresses, coral reef environments may serve as 'sentinels' for changes which could eventually alter more resilient coastal and oceanic environments. Expansive coastal development in the Florida Keys and changes in global climate have combined to lead to a rapid decline of the Florida Keys ecosystem. Individual stresses may be compounded in the presence of other factors such that their effects are synergetic.
Bacteria mediate geochemical cycles that support the activity of the entire marine food chain, yet the roles of these organisms in coral reef ecosystems have received comparatively little interest. UVR induced effects on the microbial community may be manifested throughout the entire coral reef ecosystem. Changes in microbial community dynamics as a result of UVR stress may be a sensitive indicator for subsequent UVR stress to the reef ecosystem. Newly developed molecular techniques allow the quantification of UVR damage at its origin, i.e. DNA. Concomitant measures of microbial activity and productivity will provide information on the effects UVR damage to the microbial community may have on the ecosystem. These tools are used to determine the extent of DNA damage created by UVR in coral reef microbial communities and to ascertain whether the coral surface microlayer provides protection from UVR to the microorganisms found there.