UROP Project

Assessing nutrient enrichment on coral reefs in the southern Caribbean using marine algae as bioindicators

Coral reef, ecology, bioindicators, macroalgae, nutrient enrichment, stable isotopes, sample processing

Research Mentor: Laurel Field, she/her/hers
Department, College, Affiliation: Biology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: lcf22a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Biology, Environmental Science, Geography, EOAS, open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Coral reefs in the southern Caribbean are experiencing long-term declines in coral coverage along with an increasing dominance of algae, which is partially driven by elevated nutrient inputs from both natural and human sources. This abundance of nutrients promotes algae growth and intensifies coral stress through bleaching and disease, heavily contributing to reef degradation. Identifying where these nutrients originate and how they vary across space and seasons is essential for effective reef management, yet current water quality monitoring is both labor-intensive and may miss short-term nutrient pulses.

This research project evaluates whether the common macroalgae genera (Lobophora spp. and Dictyota spp.) can serve as bioindicators of nutrient enrichment around Bonaire, an island in the southern Caribbean. Since these macroalgae absorb nutrients over time, their total nitrogen tissue content and stable nitrogen isotope (δ¹⁵N) values can reflect both the magnitude and sources of nutrient inputs into the ocean. The goal is to identify possible nutrient hotspots around Bonaire which can be used to inform efforts to manage land-based nutrient pollution and support coral conservation.

Research Tasks: Sample processing (e.g., freeze-drying, homogenizing, packing into tins using a microbalance) and organizing will be main tasks. There is an opportunity to work at the FSUCML marine laboratory to do some steps of sample processing. Project will also involve analyzing sample data using the coding program R.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Interest in learning to process samples for nutrient and isotope analyses, attention to detail, and good time management (required). Familiarity with Excel, Word (recommended)