Coral Health & Disease URE (Florida Keys)
Internship Mentors: Marina Villoch and Dr. Erinn Muller
Microorganisms have a significant influence on animal host fitness and resilience to stressors. Beneficial microbes contribute to host metabolic capabilities and pathogen defense, allowing for optimal host response to changing environmental conditions. Environmental stress can drive the loss of these beneficial species and contribute to increases in harmful species. Such shifts in microbial community composition often lead to negative host health consequences. This program uses diverse molecular methods to better understand the role of microorganisms in coral health and disease. The research interests include understanding the role of bacteria and viruses in coral disease, culturing beneficial bacteria to combat pathogens, and tank- and reef-based studies of microbial community response to environmental stress. Assessments of coral genetic variation are utilized to inform management decisions which maximize diversity and resilience of the corals we restore to the reef. The team works closely with the Coral Resilience, Reproduction, and Restoration programs on several collaborative projects to reach our shared goals of protecting our reefs. We seek highly independent and motivated interns for these projects, to be performed at the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration (IC2R3) located on Summerland Key, Florida, as well as our Key Largo location.
