[Coral-List] Biogeochemistry of Coral-Microbe Interactions Session (S69), 2011 ASLO Meeting, Puerto Rico

[Krystal Rypien]

Dear colleagues:

We are pleased to encourage submissions to the following special session of the ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico (February 13th-18th, 2011):

S69: The Biogeochemistry of Coral – Microbe Interactions

Submit your abstract for oral or poster presentation by 11th October, 2010 to:

http://www.aslo.org/meetings/sanjuan2011/submittal.html

Please be sure to reference the session number (S69) and the session title.

David Baker (Contact Person), Carnegie Institution of Washington, dbaker at ciw.edu
Krystal Rypien, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Background:

Corals are known to be associated with a dynamic group of microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, archaea, and protists. These microbial associates span the gradient between mutualistic symbionts (e.g. zooxanthellae) and opportunistic pathogens (e.g. Vibrio spp.). Although advances in molecular techniques have generated an abundance of data  on the identity and diversity of coral-associated microbes,  only recently have we begun to identify the functional roles  they play in healthy and compromised (bleached, diseased)  hosts. Given the potential for microbial communities to rapidly respond to changing environmental conditions, coral- microbe interactions are likely to play a key role in the functioning of the coral holobiont, and ultimately the fate of reef environments worldwide. This session will focus on cutting-edge advances in the field of coral-microbe biogeochemistry, such as stable isotope geochemistry, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, metagenomics, metaproteomics, metabolomics, etc. Topics are expected to include the role of coral-associated microbes in nutrient cycling, the impact of environmental stressors (nutrient enrichment, thermal stress, ocean acidification) on the functioning of the coral holobiont, and the biogeochemistry of coral symbiosis and disease.