Environmental Marine Biotechniology: Assessing the Health of Coral Reef Ecosystems in the Florida Keys Using an Integrated Molecular Biomarkers System
Environmental Marine Biotechniology: Assessing the Health of Coral Reef Ecosystems in the Florida Keys Using an Integrated Molecular Biomarkers System. National Park Service
A report on the testing of an integrated Molecular Biomarker System designed to diagnose and identify stress in an organism. We will test an integrated Molecular Biomarker System (MBS) designed to diagnose whether an organism is stressed, and identify the likely stressor(s) (e.g., heat stress, pesticides, pathogens). Our goals are to: 1) use the MBS to characterize the health of a coral reef ecosystem in the Florida Keys; 2) verify that the MBS can detect and characterize subtle and chronic effects of environmental stressors on this ecosystem; 3) determine if point-source pollutants or global climate changes (e.g., increased ocean temperatures or UV-B radiation) are stressing coral reef ecosystems; 4) compare the precision, sensitivity and prognostic capabilities of the MBS to those of traditional measures of ecosystem health, and 5) encourage the participation and understanding of the general public and scientific, industrial, and managerial communities in using mruine biotechnologies to assess and manage the health of coral reef ecosystems.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- cell integrity, Climate Change, Ecosystem health, MBS, Pollutants, Stressors