Faculty working at Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center have been awarded a three-year $450,000 research grant from the Biological Systems program of the National Science Foundation to study the relationship between a sea anemone that is very abundant in local waters and two kinds of algae that live within its tissues.
Because the presence of the algae is controlled by environmental conditions, the relative abundance of each algal type may provide a barometer for assessing the effects of climate change on ocean systems.
Brian Bingham, a professor in Western's Huxley College of the Environment, and Gisèle Muller-Parker, a professor in the WWU Biology Department, developed the program and received the award.
The research will test the effects of temperature and light levels on the physiological performance of each alga and the resulting effects on growth and reproduction of the animal host. Results of the work will have application to other symbiotic relationships between algae and their animal hosts, such as in corals.
Extensive coral bleaching and destruction of coral reefs in the tropics is thought to result from loss of the algal symbionts due to environmental changes. The Shannon Point research will shed light on this phenomenon using a model system more amenable to experimental manipulation.
The research project epitomizes the approach taken at Shannon Point Marine Center.
"The project involves faculty from both Huxley College and the Biology Department, working collaboratively and taking advantage of the facilities provided by SPMC. As is usually the case here, this sophisticated research project will involve as many as 14 undergraduate students and at least two graduate students, providing them with hands-on training and research experience," said Stephen Sulkin, SPMC director.
The Shannon Point Marine Center is a facility of Western Washington University located on a waterfront campus in Anacortes, Wash. Further information about the facilities and programs may be accessed at http://www.wwu.edu/~spmc/.