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Research
We
study the evolutionary ecology of marine organisms
using molecular genetic techniques and field-based research.
Most of our research focuses on the evolution of tropical reef
corals, specifically, how evolutionary forces such as gene flow and selection interact to shape the
genetic architecture of coral populations and species.
Our main study organisms are the Caribbean Acropora
corals [common name, Staghorn and Elkhorn
coral], which havebeen
decimated by White Band Disease (WBD) over the past thrity years
and are now listed as threatened on the US Endangered Species Act. We
have shown that 6% or more of staghorn corals are naturally
resistant to WBD. This first evidence of
disease resistance in tropical reef corals demonstrates that corals may
be more resilient than thought to rising disease
epidemics and other stressors brought on by global climate change.
Current research in the lab is focused on identifying the genetic bases
of coral innate immunity, pathogen recognition, and host resistance,
and furthering our knowledge about the WBD pathogen and the ecological
factors driving WBD outbreaks.
Current Lab Members
- Steve Vollmer - Principle Investigator
- David Combosch - PhD student
-
Elizabeth Hemond - PhD student
-
Silvia Libro - Phd student
-
Carmel Norman - MSc student
Active Projects
- Genetic Basis of Innate Immunity and Host Resistance in Reef Corals
- Microbial communities associated with diseased and healthy corals
- Ecological Drivers of WBD outbreaks on Reefs
- Pocillopora speciation and population genetics
- Littorine snail phylogeography
Selected Lab Publications
- Vollmer, SV; Kline, DK (2008). Natural Disease Resistance in Threatened Staghorn Corals. PloS ONE 3(11) e3718 [pdf]
- Combosch,
DJ; Guzman, HM; Schuhmacher, H; Vollmer, SV (2008) Interspecific
Hybridization and Restricted Trans-Pacific Gene Flow in the Tropical
Eastern Pacific Pocillopora. Molecular Ecology 17: 1304-1312 [pdf]
- Nunes,
F; Fukami, H; Vollmer, SV; Norris, RD, Knowlton, N (2008) Re-evaluation
of the Systematics of the Endemic Corals of Brazil by Molecular Data.
Coral Reefs 27: 423-432
- Vollmer, SV; Palumbi, SR (2007)
Restricted Gene Flow in the Caribbean Staghorn Coral Acropora
cervicornis: Implications for the Recovery of Endangered Reefs. Journal
of Heredity 98:40-50 [pdf]
- Willis, BL; van Oppen, MJH; Miller, DJ,
Vollmer, SV; Ayre, DJ. (2006) The Role of Hybridization in the
Evolution of Reef Corals. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics 37:489-517 [pdf]
- Vollmer, SV; Palumbi, SR (2004) Testing the Utility of ITS sequences in Coral Phylogenetics. Molecular Ecology 13: 2763-2772 [pdf]
- Vollmer, SV; Palumbi, SR (2002) Hybridization and the Evolution of Reef Coral Diversity. Science 296:2023-2025 [pdf]
- Vollmer, SV; Palumbi, SR (2002). Unisexual Clones: Lizards and Corals. Science 298:2130-2131 [pdf]
- Vollmer,
SV; Edmunds, PJ (2000) Allometric Scaling in Small Colonies of the
Scleractian Coral Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander). Biological
Bulletin 199:21-28.
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