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
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
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
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
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
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