Climate Change, Disease and Sick Corals

BY MARGAUX MONFARED

Coral Diseases are a natural phenomenon, yet disease outbreaks are now one of the greatest threats to global reefs. These outbreaks often coincide with coral bleaching events as a result of climate change and can alter the function and structure of reefs, thus compromising coral health. ‘We have to fight now to preserve what we have left’, says Dr Erinn Muller, a Senior Scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. Erinn is also the coral Health and Disease Program Manger and an avid SCUBA diver from the U.S.A. She has an extensive background conducting research on coral health, disease and restoration from around the globe, including Florida, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia with a research focus on what makes corals sick and why some corals are more resilient to threats in comparison to others. She believes that we can prevent future disease outbreaks once we understand the mechanisms leading to compromised coral health. Erinn’s impressive research has led to the publication of over 25 papers and her team at Mote have outplanted >100,000 coral fragments onto degraded reefs in Florida. Not only is she an outstanding scientist, she is a wife and mother of two small children (Cedar 6 yrs and Sawyer 2 yrs). Erinn absolutely loves statistics and data analysis, but her favourite place is underwater.

You’ve built your life around the ocean. What drew you to it in the first place?

I don’t really know why, but the ocean has always fascinated me. My family would take trips to a nearby educational aquarium and I just loved it. My mom couldn’t tear me away from the tanks. Like many others, I have wanted to be a marine scientist for as long as I can remember. I am one of the lucky ones that actually gets to have this as my career.

Your research focuses on coral health; can you describe the impact of climate change on corals?

Coral live close to their thermal limits already and just a few degrees of temperatures above their ‘normal’ stresses them out. When that happens, corals bleach by losing their symbiotic algal partners that provide essential nutrition. If the temperatures stay warm the corals can eventually starve and die. Additionally, when corals are stressed they are more susceptible to infectious disease. We often see outbreaks of disease coincide with bleaching events so climate change can have doubly devastating effects on coral reefs.

Can you explain how you collect and analyse your data on coral disease?

We conduct field surveys to assess coral disease dynamics through space and time. These surveys typically quantify the number of apparently healthy colonies as well as those appearing unhealthy, which could be from a variety of sources such as bleaching from stress, predation impacts, sediments, scouring, or disease signs. We also often collect samples of healthy and sick corals to assess their physiological state, microbiome, or gene expression. Data is typically analysed using frequentist or Bayesian statistics. I often incorporate data into population or community based models as well to predict how coral reefs will change through time.

What measures do you take to outline recovery plans for corals with disease?

I am a member of the Acropora Recovery Implementation Team, which assesses the progress towards the recovery of the elkhorn and staghorn corals within the US. Additionally, I am a co-Lead of the FL DEP Disease Advisory Committee’s Restoration Team, which focuses on addressing restoration activities within the context of the stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak.

How do you think we might be able to prevent disease outbreaks in the future?

Disease is a natural part of any population, however, the extent and severity of coral diseases is exacerbated by habitat degradation, reduced water quality, and climate change. Outbreaks can be reduced if we provide the healthy habitat essential for maintaining healthy reefs.

How do you hope your voice and work will influence others to make a difference in the fight against climate change?

I hope that through my work people will realize that without curbing climate change we will lose coral reefs as we know them. Reefs are an oasis of life and provide unique ecosystem services to billions of people every day. Without them we lose a treasure trove of biodiversity, shoreline protection, and novel sources of medicine. Without coral reefs many places lose their heritage. We have to fight now to preserve what we have left and then rebuild the ecosystem by reducing carbon emissions.

Whose work has influenced and inspired you?

I really admire the work of my female mentors, Caroline Rogers, Kim Ritchie, Laura Mydlarz, and Rebecca Vega Thurber. Their creativity, novelty, and hard work show within their research and I LOVE that I get to work with them still.

 What is one thing you wish someone had told you/taught you a long time ago?

I wish someone had taught me how to say ‘no’ more often so that I don’t overextend myself. I also wish there were more opportunities to talk with other career moms about how to juggle a career and family life. Sometimes it feels impossible and sometimes it actually is impossible.  Having tips from others about how to make time for kids, while having a huge workload would be super useful!

 What has your experience as a woman in ocean science been like?

It has primarily been awesome. I have had the amazing experience of having several female mentors and supervisors over my early career stages. I also work in a large lab that consists of mostly women. There is a lot of laughing and bonding when we do field/lab work. It brings us closer together; we support each other and teach each other.

Where do you go from here?

Here on out I am focusing on growing my research program at Mote and mentoring new staff members that come onto our team. I look forward to gaining more research opportunities and fostering collaborations among lots of other great female scientist.