NSU Fall 2012 Horizons Magazine

18 HORIZONS 19 HORIZONS (continued on page 22) The United Nations estimates that, globally, coral reefs generate more than $172 billion per year from the services they provide including tourism, recreation, and fisheries. However, like the rainforests, coral reefs are rapidly degrading. If they perish, the oceans will destabilize, having severe consequences for sea life and the economies that depend on them. For South Florida, where tourism and ocean-based economy generate $6 billion annually from reef-related activities, and more than 71,000 jobs, the effects could be devastating. The Center of Excellence is home to the research that aims to reverse the trend. “By opening this state-of-the-art facility, NSU is taking a leadership role in Florida’s marine science research and helping to boost an important, multibillion-dollar coral reef industry that employs thousands of South Floridians and sustains many small businesses,” said NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. “The Research Center is critical for the environmental sustainability of coral reefs, which are the life blood of our region, the oceans, and their ecosystems.” Housed at NSU’s Oceanographic Center, bordering Dania Beach and Hollywood, Florida, the center features wet labs that would be the envy of any marine biologist. Saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean is derived from several saltwater wells, pumped into 5,000-gallon seawater filtration tanks, purified, treated, and then transferred to controlled lab environ- ments. There, cutting-edge computers and other equipment help students and scientists conduct groundbreaking research. NSU scientists concentrate on a number of diverse marine science disciplines including deep-sea biology, shark behavior and genetics, fish ecology, marine geology, sponges, and ocean wind and waves, as well as coral reef restoration, diseases, reproduction, and genetics. Lab entrances have display panels with videos that describe the research being conducted by the principal investigators. Faculty members and researchers are world- renowned scientists who have traveled the globe to conduct studies published in top scientific journals like Nature , Science , and Coral Reefs . The center also houses NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute, the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI), and the Save Our Seas Shark Center. Artwork by renowned marine artist Guy Harvey, Ph.D., who also donated $200,000 to GHRI, is prominently featured in the building’s interior. On September 27, NSU held a grand opening for the Center of Excellence featuring speeches by former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and other dignitaries. “Having this innovative center filled with our best researchers and their students will help NSU and the world take a giant step forward in coral reef research,” said Richard E. Dodge, Ph.D., dean of NSU’s Oceanographic Center and executive director of NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute. Bu i ld i ng’ s Beg i nn i ngs The center would not have happened without the vision of NSU lead- ers Hanbury and Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D. (NSU chancellor); the support of the NSU Board of Trustees and the Oceanographic Center’s Development Council; and the scientific prowess of Dodge. In 2010, NSU submitted a comprehensive proposal to secure a competitive grant of $15 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NSU contributed an additional $35 million to build and furnish the center, as well as revamping the adjacent research vessel marina. NSU’s grant was one of 12 awarded by NIST as a result of the nationwide competition that attracted 165 schools. Funding for the research facility grants was made available in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NSU was one of two institutions to receive the largest amount awarded, and it was the only ecologically oriented project awarded funding. Receiving the largest grant in NSU’s history to build this center is recognition of the tre- mendous value of coral reefs to the United States and the con- siderable threats and stressors now impinging upon them, Dodge said. The center aims to develop solid research prod- ucts and information that will lead to better management and conservation solutions. The National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration (NOAA) considers NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) an impor- tant partner. In turn, NCRI has long supported NOAA’s mission by providing outstanding scientific research to support federal, state, and local managers in addressing local solutions to global oceanographic crises. “NSU’s new Center of Excellence fits perfectly within NOAA’s mission and provides both urgently needed physical facilities and expanded scientific capacity regionally, nation- ally, and globally,” Dodge said. The center’s location is ideal as NOAA’s own study recognized that 84 percent of the nation’s reefs are located in Florida. Reefs i n Per i l Coral reef ecosystems throughout the world are living creatures that have been in existence for more than 215 million years. Reefs provide a host of environmental and economic services including employment, food, recreation, and coastal protection. Roughly 25 percent of the ocean’s fish species emanate from coral reef habitats. Millions of tourists and residents enjoy scuba diving, snorkeling, and fishing on the reefs—activities that provide a major source of income and employment for communities around the world, including the Sunshine State’s coastal communities. Dodge notes that reefs have been ravaged by a number of stressors, including global threats such as rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification, and local threats such as pollution, overfishing, and coastal development. Rising ocean temperatures are causing coral bleaching, which can lead to loss of coral tissue, disease, and ultimately, death. Increasing ocean acid content, even by small amounts, causes corals to make skeletons, so the very structure of reefs can be endangered. Local businesses like dive shops, restaurants, hotels, gift shops, boat tours, cruises, and big and small business owners are being affected. Business owners like Frank Gernert, who operates a popular Fort Lau- derdale waterfront restaurant, heavily depend on the tourists who come to Florida for recre- ation on the reefs and the fresh fish provided by the reefs. “The coral reef industry is invaluable environmentally and economically,” Gernert said. Good News for Reef Poster i ty In addition to laboratories with sophisticated equipment, the center has space for research collaboration, training and fieldwork staging, a marine science library, and an 85-seat auditorium. The design promotes research by current and new faculty members, researchers, visiting scientists, post- doctoral fellows, and graduate students. One of those labs is the Systems Biology and Geology Lab, led by Bernhard Riegl, Ph.D., Oceanographic Center professor and associate director of NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute. Riegl uses an interdisciplinary approach to the systems biology of coral reefs to learn how past and future ocean changes impact reef ecosystems. “Climate change has adversely impacted coral reefs in a variety of ways,” Riegl said. “Our research investigates coral Top: Dean Richard E. Dodge looks at X-rays of coral cores. Center: OC students Andrew Calhoun, Alexandra Dempsey, and Jeremy Kerr unfurl a map. Bottom: Ph.D. candidate Anastasios Stathakopoulos studies how and when ancient coral reefs were formed. • Coral reef health—assessing the health of coral reefs and their ability to recover from injury and damage • Climate change and its effects on coral reefs • Cultivating baby reefs—cultivating species of corals in nurseries for reintroduction to the ocean • Mapping coral reefs throughout the world • Studying coral growth rings and the history of reefs • Learning the molecular biology of reef animals— gaining an understanding of the connection between reef animals and coral reefs Research Projects at the Center of Excellence Researchers at NSU’s Center of Excellence generate information to help understand, conserve, and protect coral reef ecosystems. Research (at a local, national, and international level) includes