Globe-trotting researchers in pursuit of coral reef secrets
PhD candidates Marina Tonetti Botana and Andrea Gamba recently travelled to Sweden and Japan to conduct research on coral reef biology, and how they might be able to persevere against climate change.
Research in an internationally significant area like marine biology often lends itself to a lot of travel and hands-on action. PhD candidates Marina Tonetti Botana and Andrea Gamba have recently been to Sweden and Japan respectively, pursuing unique international opportunities for their research.
Marina and Andrea are both PhD candidates in their final year of research under the supervision of Professor Simon Davy, Professor of Marine Biology at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Professor Davy’s lab is focused on coral reef biology—specifically the close relationship between reef-building corals and a particular type of alga that live inside them. While Marina’s research examines the molecules that drive the signalling between the two species, Andrea works on the receptors that receive and transmit the signals. Both students’ projects are supported by research grants awarded by the Marsden Fund.
Andrea has developed his own method for studying this exchange in anemones, but he needed to study corals to take the method further. He travelled to Okinawa, Japan, through the University of the Ryukyus, to collect samples of a particular kind of coral there.
“I fell in love with the place, it was amazing. I obviously like corals and study them, so that was definitely the place to be,” Andrea says.
He spent his days on boats and in the lab collecting coral fragments to take back to Wellington for analysis. On his time off, he was busy meeting new friends, eating together, free-diving, and travelling around Japan on weekends. Even though he was able to gather many unique coral samples for his PhD research, Andrea says the most valuable aspect of his time in Japan was the community of researchers who were there with him.
“It was an amazing experience. I met so many people from all around the world, all involved with corals but with different ideas about the same topic. It really helps you grow and broaden your perspective on the subject—there was a lot of exchange of ideas and methods and great networking. I’ve made friends who I think are going to last for a long time, which is very cool.”
Meanwhile, Marina’s experience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden opened her up to a whole new world of scientific analysis. As one of the world’s leading universities in scientific research, access to resources and expertise was the highlight of Marina’s trip. Rather than collecting samples to take back home like Andrea, Marina used the Institute’s unique processes to analyse samples that she had brought from New Zealand in completely new ways.
“In terms of the process, the chemistry, and the level of machine resolution, the method I used is the only one in the world. Even the molecules that we’re going to report have never been studied before. The institute also contributed a lot in terms of money, time, and effort, particularly from Professor Craig Wheelock who developed the original method. I’m really grateful—it was an incredible opportunity.”
Marina also nods to Callaghan Innovation as one of the key collaborators in her research.
“All my analytical runs in New Zealand are done at Callaghan Innovation. They have a really good set-up too, so we reached out and established a collaboration to make my project more feasible.”
Just like the coral and algae Marina is studying, the relationship she has with Callaghan Innovation is mutually beneficial. The agency has also been able to use some of the methods she pioneered for their own, separate projects.
The researchers hope that their work on the fundamental aspects of coral reef biology can help scientists find a solution to the negative effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. Although we have known about the threats to marine ecosystems for a long time now, Marina and Andrea say, we still don’t know enough about the basic biology of corals.
“With increasing water temperatures from climate change, the symbiosis between the coral and its algae doesn’t work anymore. The corals bleach and die—and if the corals die there is a cascade effect on the animals living on the reef. Understanding the basics of how corals work and respond to this means we could find a solution,” says Andrea.
Without this knowledge, Marina says scientists aren’t able to understand how coral reefs might be able to survive climate change and other environmental dangers.
“How can we resolve a problem that we don’t really understand? Our questions are fundamental and mechanistic. Once we have this baseline well-established, then we can move the field forward and develop efficient, effective solutions with the best understanding of what will work.”
For now, Marina and Andrea are still in the early stages of their doctoral research, but already have promising results.
“Our findings are entirely complementary. Now that we have data, we can see that our results align with each other really well—it all makes sense,” Marina says.
Marina and Andrea are both used to travelling around the world for their studies—originally from Brazil and Switzerland respectively. But working with Professor Simon Davy was the main motivation behind their relocations to Victoria University of Wellington. As the author of some of the foundational literature and with one of the most productive lab groups in the world on this subject, Professor Davy is internationally known amongst those who work in coral reef biology.
“It was entirely Simon and the work that he was doing that drew me to Wellington and New Zealand,” says Marina.
Looking towards the future, Andrea says that Professor Davy is one of the main reasons he wants to stay in this area of research.
“I love my job; I love what I do. I like everything about it, really. Simon is a very cool, and very understanding supervisor—that’s why I want to keep going after my PhD.”