Reem Ahmed Al Rabiah
Altarbia Alislamia Schools, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
The Red Sea harbors the second largest coral reef system in the world. Unfortunately, many of those corals are starting to bleach. At the base of coral reefs are the benthic microbial communities, or biofilms; consisting of many microorganisms that play a role in the bottom-up controlled ecosystem. Biofilms can also induce coral larvae settlement, which is essential for reef preservation and expansion.
In this research, we studied the effects of ecological differences of reefs along a latitudinal gradient. Three reefs were chosen on one longitudinal transect, with different distances from shore. Three months after setting glass slides in each reef, the samples were collected and the DNA was extracted, amplified, cloned, sequenced, identified using BLAST database and a classifier from the RDP and the Alpha and Beta diversity were calculated using the Muther program. The results showed 115 OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Unit) only 7 of which were registered in the database. The Alpha diversity showed that the number of OTUs in the midshore reef is significantly less than in the other two reefs.
By classifying the bacteria to families, we were able to compare between the biofilm compositions. The variation of the families confirms the hypothesis. By understanding the biofilm composition, we are closer to building a model of a coral reef that can be used to preserve the reef and setting a scientific infrastructure for further studies. Awards won at the 2013 ISEF Fourth Award of $500 - Environmental Sciences