A New Perspective for

Coral Health Assessment

From the Tool Box to the Tool Kit

Cheryl M. Woodley

NOAA NOS NCCOSCharleston, SC

Craig A. Downs

EnVirtue Biotechnologies, Inc

Winchester, VA

Overview

• Environmental Cellular Diagnostics– What is it?– How does it work?

• Cellular Diagnostics and coral– Coral Bleaching– Coral Health Global vs Local

• Emerging Technologies for Managers

Current monitoring methods ignore important links in the biological hierarchy

Ecosystem InferCommunities Monitor

Populations MonitorIndividuals

OrgansTissues

Cells & Molecules

Stress

Need for New Methodologies

• Traditional methods detect disturbance only after the community has been altered.

• More sensitive techniques needed to detect stress before levels are high enough to degrade community.

Need for New Methodologies

• Risk (1999) specifically addressed need for integration of monitoring with research designed to identify stressors and determine causality.

Environmental Cellular Diagnostic System(patent-pending)

Metal stress

Oxidative

stress

Fu

el s

tres

s

CYP P450

Metallothionein

Cu/Zn SODCu/Zn SOD

Genomic Integrity•DNA Adducts•Abasic sites•Micronuclei

Cellular Integrity•LPO, HNE

•Ferrochelatase•Glutathione•Ubiquitin•Hsp 60, 70

Oxidative Stress•Superoxide Dismutases•Catalase•Protein carbonyl•sHsps

Toxic Stress•P450s

•Metallothioneins•P glycoproteins, MDR

Immune C

ompetence

Cellular Bioindicators

Goal:

• To determine health condition

• To determine susceptibility

• To identify stressor

• To predict outcomes (prognosis)

… with information from the cell

Coral Bleaching

Sampling Locations

6mEast Bache Shoal8

6 mAlina’s reef7

6 mAlgae reef6

6 mWhite Bank5

18 mSW Molasses4

10 mBetween Molasses and Pickels

3

6 mSW Three Sisters2

3 mRodriguez Key1

DepthSite Name

Map by Mike Callahan

Significant Regressors

• March water temperature (R2 = 0.37,

P < 0.002).

• NOAA currently uses water temperature to predict coral bleaching hot spots.

A Better Regressor: Chloroplast Small Heat Shock Protein

chlpsHsp concentration in MarchPg chlpsHsp/g total protein

Pro

bab

ility

of

cora

l con

dit

ion

in S

epte

mb

er

X2 = 13.4, P < 0.0005R2 = 0.45

0.30

0.96

Environmental Cellular Diagnostic System

Emerging Technologies for Managers

The Tool Kit….

Does human activity Does human activity contribute to mass coral contribute to mass coral

bleaching?bleaching?• Prevalent notion is that bleaching is not not

manageablemanageable

• Assumption has not been demonstrated

• Negligence in managing coral reef resources

Could agricultural activity affect coral bleaching?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Control MV 1ppb

Methyl Viologen

Chlorophyll a

Could recreational activity and/or residential

development affect coral bleaching?

Anti-Foulant Paints

• Irgarol 1051 approved by U.S. EPA in 1998

• Levels of Irgarol 1051 in water column as high as 600-800 ppb in many places in the Florida Keys and Bermuda

• 10 ppb Irgarol can drop coral photosynthesis by 60% in 8 hours

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

ng

/ug

TS

P

Control 8 hr Irgarol 8 hr Control 24 hr Irgarol 24 hr

Catalase

0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

ng

/ug

TS

P

Control 8 hr Irgarol 8 hr Control 24 hr Irgarol 24 hr

Ferrochelatase

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

ng/u

g TS

P

Control 8 hr Irgarol 8 hr Control 24 hr Irgarol 24 hr

Multi-Drug Resistance Protein

Could watershed development and

management affect coral bleaching?

0

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

0.09

ng

/ug

TS

P

36 ppt 32 ppt 28 ppt 24 ppt 20 ppt

Salinity

Carbonyl

Environmental Cellular Diagnostics as a resource

management and regulatory instrument

• Determine if a chemical or activity might exacerbate coral bleaching - prevention

• Identify reefs that are at risk• Better manage coral reef resources

Acknowledgements

• U.S. NOAA• Florida Keys NMS• NPS (Biscayne)• Flower Gardens

NMS• U.S. Geological

Survey• Aust. Instit. Mar.

Sci

• Environmental Moorings Intl.

• Oxis Research, Inc.

• College of Charleston

• Univ. S. Florida• Medical Univ. S.

Carolina

• The Cousteau Society

• Mote Marine Laboratory

• IIDEXO• Bermuda Biol.

Station