[Coral-List] Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity

[sarah davies]

Hello Coral-listers!

Last year, a Symbiodiniaceae diversity workshop was held, which led to a
draft manuscript titled “Building consensus around the assessment and
interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity,”. On behalf of the workshop
participants, we are excited to now share this draft manuscript via
bioRxiv, in order to gather feedback from the coral reef research community
prior to submitting for publication:

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202206.0284/v1


Some brief background: In 2021 we received funding from the National
Science Foundation to host a workshop titled “Building consensus around the
quantification and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity.” Over 60
researchers with expertise in taxonomy, physiology, genomics, and ecology
of Symbiodiniaceae met virtually in the Summer of 2021 to: 1) take stock of
the various analytical approaches and data interpretations that already
have broad support among Symbiodiniaceae experts; 2) discuss differences of
opinion regarding the generation and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae
molecular data; and 3) articulate outstanding questions to help guide
current and future research efforts. We have spent the past year putting
together the results from this workshop and hope that the perspective
presented in the draft manuscript will inspire and accelerate coral reef
science by serving as a resource to those designing experiments, publishing
research, and applying for funding related to Symbiodiniaceae and their
symbiotic partnerships.

Over the next 30 days, we are inviting the community to offer their
insights, suggestions, and comments before we revise and submit the
manuscript for peer-review. We greatly value your input and would be happy
to include anyone who contributes their thoughts in the acknowledgements.
Please post your comments/suggestions on the preprint website, or send them
directly to Symbiodiniaceae at gmail.com.

In addition to making the manuscript available for public comment on
bioRxiv, we will also be hosting a follow-up workshop at the 15th
International Coral Reef Symposium in Bremen, Germany (“How can we develop
new tools and best practices to accurately delimit Symbiodiniaceae
diversity in reef research?”). The agenda will heavily emphasize
opportunities for networking with potential collaborators, brainstorming
funding proposals, and sharing novel tools, using the draft manuscript as a
launching-off point. We particularly encourage participation from students,
restoration practitioners, and anyone who may not have been able to attend
the initial workshop, as we hope for diverse perspectives to be
represented.

We thank you in advance for your feedback and hope to see some of you in
Bremen!

Sincerely,

Sarah W. Davies, Boston University, NSF Workshop PI

Adrienne M.S. Correa, Rice University, NSF Workshop co-PI

John Parkinson, University of South Florida, NSF Workshop co-PI

Matthew Gamache, University of South Florida, NSF Workshop co-organizer

Lauren Howe-Kerr, Rice University, NSF Workshop co-organizer

Nicola Kriefall,  Boston University, NSF Workshop co-organizer


-- 
Sarah W. Davies M.Sc. Ph.D.
she/her/hers
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Boston University
Office: (617) 353-8980
Twitter @DaviesswPhD
Email: daviessw at bu.edu
Website: http://sites.bu.edu/davieslab/