Research of Marine Biology

Research Project

Integration of Ecological Conservation and Education of Coral Reefs

Principal Investigators

Tung-Yung Fan(principal investigator)、Pi-Jen Liu、Chuan-Ho Tang

Subprojects

• 1.Coral reef monitoring, coral cultivation and marine talent cultivation (Tung-Yung Fan)
• 2.Coral reef sediment monitoring (Pi-Jen Liu)
• 3.The ecological model construction of the coral reef benthic communities (Wei-Rung Chou)
• 4.Environmental study and education of coral reefs (Chuan-Ho Tang)

Research Overview

Since 2011, we have carried out the monitoring of the spatial and temporal changes of the benthic community structure in the coral reefs of Western Hungchun Peninsula, as well as constructed the ecological model with combining data of the benthic community structure, water quality and sediment. It is effective to understand the latest development of coral reefs near the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. Results shown the coral abundance is increasing from 2011 to June 2016. However, mass coral bleaching, typhoon and runoff occurred after July 2016, and caused negative impacts on coral reefs. It is worth to continue the monitoring to accumulate long-term ecological data and update the ecological model analysis to timely understand the ecological changes, update the content of environmental education, and propose effective management means based on scientific findings.
Brooding reef corals are abundant in Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan. They are important reef-builders and recruits. They release larvae throughout the year and their reproductive timing could be regulated by seawater temperature or photoperiod. They are easier to be cultured under artificial environment and widely used as model organisms for biological research. We are cultivating brooding coral species to enhance their thermal tolerance. These corals are also used to develop model species for investigating how corals acclimatized to climate change.
The “Coral Reef Ambassadors” project was sponsored and initiated by the 2012 US State Department's “Museums Connect” program, which is executed by the Birch Aquarium at San Diego, California and the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan. The collaboration extended to several middle and high schools as well as the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. This project continuously attracts motivated teachers and students to learn marine education, coral reef conservation and aquarium technology. It promotes the integrated development of research, education, conservation and industry based on coral reefs. Taiwanese teachers and students have been visited visit San Diego, California or Oahu, Hawaii every year during 2013-2016. It has become a well-known international marine talent education program.

Publications

Chuan-Ho Tang*, Ching-Yu Lin, Pei-Pei Sun, Shu-Hui Lee, Wei-Hsien Wang* (2018). Modeling the effects of Irgarol 1051 on coral using lipidomic methodology for environmental monitoring and assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 627, 571–578.
Chuan-Ho Tang*, Ching-Yu Lin, Shu-Hui Lee, Wei-Hsien Wang* (2017). Membrane lipid profiles of coral responded to zinc oxide nanoparticle-induced perturbations on the cellular membrane. Aquatic Toxicology, 187, 72–81.
Chuan-Ho Tang*, Ping-Chang Ku, Ching-Yu Lin, Te-Hao Chen, Kuo-Hsin Lee, Shu-Hui Lee, Wei-Hsien Wang* (2015). Intra-colonial functional differentiation-related modulation of the cellular membrane in a pocilloporid coral Seriatopora caliendrum. Marine Biotechnology, 17, 633–643.
Fan TY, YC Hsieh, KH Lin, FW Kuo, K Soong, CJ McRae, PJ Edmunds, LS Fang. 2017. Plasticity in lunar timing of larval release of two brooding pocilloporid corals in an internal tide-induced upwelling reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series 569:117-127.
Zhou J, TY Fan, J Beardall, KS Gao. 2017. UV-A induced delayed development in the larvae of coral Seriatopora caliendrum. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 167: 249-255.
Rivest EB, CS Chen, TY Fan, HH Li, GE Hofmann. 2017. Lipid consumption in coral larvae differs among sites: a consideration of environmental history in a global ocean change scenario. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284: 20162825.
Oldach MJ, M Workentine, MV Matz, TY Fan, PD Vize. 2017. Transcriptome dynamics over a lunar month in a broadcast spawning Acroporid coral. Molecular Ecology 26: 2514-2526.
Crowder C, E Meyer, TY Fan, VM Weis. 2017. Impacts of temperature and lunar day on gene expression profiles during a monthly reproductive cycle in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. Molecular Ecology 26: 3913-3925.
Zhou J, TY Fan, J Beardall, KS Gao. 2016. Incident ultraviolet irradiances influence physiology, development and settlement of larva in the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Photochemistry and Photobiology 92: 293-300.
Bramanti L, M Iannelli, TY Fan, PJ Edmunds. 2015. Using demographic models to project the effects of climate change on scleractinian corals: Pocillopora damicornis as a case study. Coral Reefs 34:505-515.
Edmunds PJ, R Steneck, R Albright, RC Carpenter, A Chui, TY Fan, S Harii, H Kitano, H Kurihara, L Legendre, S Mitarai, S Muko, Y Nozawa, J Padilla-Gamino, N Price, K Sakai, G Suzuki, M van Oppen, A Yarid, N Satoh, RD Gates. 2015. Geographic variation in long-term trajectories of change in coral recruitment: a global-to-local perspective. Marine and Freshwater Research 66:609-622.
Liu PJ, MC Hsin, YH Huang, TY Fan, PJ Meng, CC Lu, HJ Lin. 2015. Nutrient enrichment coupled with sedimentation favors sea anemones over corals. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0125175.
Beijbom O, PJ Edmunds, C Roelfsema, J Smith, DI Kline, B Neal, M Dunlap, V Moriarty, TY Fan, CJ Tan, S Chan, T Treibitz, A Gamst, BG Mitchell, D Kriegman. 2015. Towards automated annotation of benthic survey images: variability of human experts and operational modes of automation. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0130312.
Yasuda N, C Taquet, S Nagai, M Fortes, TY Fan, N Phongsuwan, K Nadaoka. 2014. Genetic structure and cryptic speciation in the threatened reef-building coral Heliopora coerulea along Kuroshio Current. Bull Mar Sci 90: 233-255.
Wall CB, TY Fan, PJ Edmunds. 2014. Ocean acidification has no effect on thermal bleaching in the coral Seriatopora caliendrum. Coral Reefs 33:119-130.
Tang CH, LS Fang, TY Fan, LH Wang, CY Lin, SH Lee, WH Wang. 2014. Cellular membrane accommodation to thermal oscillations in the coral Seriatopora caliendrum. PLoS ONE 9(8): e105345.
Pasaribu B, IP Lin, JTC Tzen, GY Jauh, TY Fan, YM Ju, JO Cheng, CS Chen, PL Jiang. 2014. SLDP: A novel protein related to caleosin is associated with the endosymbiotic Symbiodinium lipid droplets from Euphyllia glabresens. Mar Biotech 16:560-571.
Edmunds PJ, M Adjeroud, M L. Baskett, IB Baums, AF Budd, RC Carpenter, NS Fabina, TY Fan, EC Franklin, K Gross, X Han, L Jacobson, JS Klaus, TR McClanahan, JK O’Leary, MJH van Oppen, X Pochon, HM Putnam, TB Smith, MM Stat, H Sweatman, R van Woesik, RD Gates. 2014. Persistence and change in community composition of reef corals through present, past and future climates. PLoS ONE 9(10): e107525.
Crowder CM, WL Liang, VM Weis, TY Fan. 2014. Elevated temperature alters the lunar timing of planulation in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. PLoS ONE 9(10): e107906.