Coral reefs are "constructional physiographic features of tropical seas consisting fundamentally of a rigid calcareous framework made up mainly of the interlocked and encrusting skeletons of reef-building (hermatypic) corals (Wells,1957). The principal organisms responsible for the construction of modern day coral reefs, the stony corals, comprise the cnidarian order Scleractinia, which is closely allied to the sea anemones (Actinaria). Individual polyps secrete a calcium carbonate skeletal cup (calyx) beneath the basal epidermis. In most coral species the polyps remain connected by living tissue forming a colony and calcium carbonate is deposited beneath the basal epidermis of the entire colony, thereby constructing a three-dimensional mass of calcium carbonate which increases in size with the passage of time. The living tissues of reef building corals are packed with unicellular symbiotic dinoflagellates termed zooxanthellae which have been shown to be of Importance in both the calcification of the skeleton and in production of organic material on the reef.

Approximately 37 m (120 ft) of core was studied with the objective of evaluating and documenting the development and loss of porosity in the dry Mobil McElroy-1 well (Lower Cretaceous Aptian – Albian Sligo Formation). Core slabs were described and thin section samples, taken every 1.5 m (5 ft), were stained and analyzed under standard petrographic, cathode luminescence, confocal and scanning electron microscopes. The main conclusion is that average porosity significantly reduced with depth. Carbon and oxygen isotope values obtained for 20 samples show that the main pore-occluding diagenetic environment was meteoric with most samples having relatively low delta18O (-3.1%o to -6.7%o V- PDB) values. Early through late stage medium (1 mm – 3 mm) to large (> 3 mm) calcite and nonerroan dolomite jointly contributed to more than 10% of primary porosity loss. This study significantly contributes to the understanding of the Sligo Formation and promotes development of natural gas resources.

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The J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex, Montana (a large layered mafic intrusion), is one of the highest grade platinum group element (PGE) deposits known in the world, producing primarily palladium and platinum in a 3.4:1 ratio. "Ballrooms" of the Stillwater Complex are anomalously wide areas within or stratigraphically below the J-M Reef that host platinum group element mineralization. Ballrooms have two typical morphologies (type 1 and type 2); the first is an abrupt thickening of the mineralization that extends below the Reef Package and the second is a gentle widening of the Reef Package and associated reef mineralization to a width of over 6 m. Ballrooms are highly variable in size. Minimum dimensions for ballroom designation are a thickness (perpendicular to strike) of 6 meters and a length of 5 meters (parallel to strike). Mineralization contacts are irregular but sharp and are characterized by a dramatic decrease in sulfide content (from one to two percent in ballrooms to only trace amounts, Whole rock major and trace element compositions of rocks from ballrooms exhibit a strong geochemical control by cumulus phases. There are no significant major or trace element differences in the rocks from the two ballroom types. Moreover, cumulate mineralogy in ballrooms shows no variation from cumulate mineralogy in the JM Reef. Magnesium, Fe, and Cr exhibit a strong correlation with one another and the other major elements but do not correlate with Cu, Ni, and S. This indicates that Cu, Ni, and S were controlled by processes other than those controlling the distribution of the major elements in cumulus phases. Cl-rich hydrous phases in the ballrooms (apatite and phlogopite) are evidence for the presence of Cl-rich fluids that interacted with melt in the mineralized zone, inferred to coincide with the growth of cumulus silicate phases. Pegmatitic textures also evidence the presence of fluid. The concentrated fluids played the major role in the formation of these anomalously rich ore morphologies. This fluid likely originated when intercumulate melt became fluid saturated during crystallization of the cumulate pile at the base of the magma chamber and migrated upward as Boudreau (1999) suggests. This fluid appears to have been concentrated in some areas to form locally enriched areas of PGE mineralization (ballrooms). Areas of extensive fluid-melt interaction could produce type 2 ballrooms, while type 1 ballrooms were formed where there was little or no melt present when the upwelling fluid became sulfide saturated. The fluid generation and migration may have been caused by an eruption of flood lava from the crystallizing magma chamber. It is possible that even a small eruption from the chamber could generate a large enough pressure decease to induce fluid saturation in the melt remaining in the cumulate pile. This process may have repeated each time lava erupted from the evolving chamber and created multiple sulfide horizons in the Stillwater Complex. Evidence of sulfide remobilization and low temperature secondary alteration is abundant in ballrooms. The secondary alteration phases include sericite, zoisite/clinozoisite, serpentine, magnetite, pyrite, talc, and chlorite. A regional metamorphic event at 1.7 Ga that changed the Pb isotopic composition of the sulfides is likely the cause of the alteration. This low temperature hydrothermal event locally remobilized sulfides, chalcophile elements, and PGEs in the J-M Reef and ballrooms and may have variably depleted or enriched parts of the mineralization. This remobilization of sulfides, chalcophile elements, and PGEs has had a significant influence on the local distribution (centimeters to a few meters) of PGE bearing sulfides.

Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased global greenhouse gas concentrations resulting in rapid climate change, which now threatens terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Tropical coral reefs, along with the biodiversity and communities they support, are particularly threatened by these changes in climate. Corals are a consortium of organisms, with the coral host along with its photosynthetic endosymbiont (Family Symbiodiniaceae) and diverse community of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses) together forming the ‘coral holobiont’. However, the symbiosis between tropical corals and Symbiodiniaceae algae is sensitive to even small changes in temperature and ‘coral bleaching’ events – the loss of symbiosis – are now occurring with increased frequency and severity. These bleaching events can result in coral mortality and loss of entire reefs if stressful conditions do not subside. While research efforts have increased our ability to understand and predict coral bleaching events, fundamental questions remain surrounding how genetic diversity of the coral holobiont and interactions with its environment can drive coral resilience or resistance under climate change. The overarching goal of my dissertation is to understand how various abiotic (i.e., stress duration, spatiotemporal variation on the reef) and biotic (i.e., holobiont diversity, symbiosis) factors determine a coral’s response to environmental change at the level of phenotype and genotype. To achieve this goal, I first tested how environmental history and stress duration modulated the physiological responses of two reef-building corals under combined ocean warming and ocean acidification conditions. I found that one species was more stress-resistant (Siderastrea siderea), but that both duration of stress exposure and environmental history (inshore vs. offshore reef origin) modulated coral physiology. Next, I investigated the importance of holobiont genetic identity and abiotic environment in driving phenotypic responses of S. siderea exposed to a diel temperature variability (DTV) and subsequent heat challenge experiment. I found that while DTV increased coral growth, cryptic host diversity and their unique pairings with algal symbiont strains were the strongest predictors of holobiont physiology and response to heat challenge. Lastly, I leveraged genome-wide gene expression profiling and the facultative symbiosis between the subtropical coral Oculina arbuscula and its symbiont Breviolum psygmophilum to disentangle the independent responses of both partners to heat and cold challenges in and out of symbiosis. I found that O. arbuscula host gene expression was more plastic under temperature challenges relative to B. psygmophilum when in symbiosis, and that symbionts exhibited more gene expression plasticity in culture compared to in symbiosis. Taken together, this dissertation provides valuable insights into the phenotypic and genotypic mechanisms that contribute to coral success in a changing climate.

This study sought to connect two bodies of knowledge--integrative complexity and attribution theory. Integrative complexity is a term that indicates the simplicity vs. complexity of a person's mental frame and perceptual skill. A person who perceives nuance and subtle differences typically scores higher on an integrative complexity measure. Attribution theories are concerned with how individuals perceive causation for various events. The limited research into the linkages between perceived causation for an event and how complexly a person thinks about the domain of that event, coupled with the dearth of attribution research in the natural resource management literature, inspired this research. Florida Keys coral reef users were sent a mail questionnaire between July 2009 and March 2010. Integrative complexity level was determined using an index that was developed for this research. Based on attributional and cognitive complexity literature, it was hypothesized that people who score lower in integrative complexity would exhibit an "external" attribution pattern. Integrative complexity was also proposed to influence: attitude and value extremity; number of perceived problem causes; and use of mediated communication. Finally, it was hypothesized that individuals will assign more blame to other groups than to their own. Six of the study's seven null hypotheses were rejected: 1) a significant relationship was found between integrative complexity level and the number of causes that respondents recorded for the decline of the Florida Keys reef ecosystem, 2) significant differences were observed in attitude extremity according to integrative complexity, 3) significant differences were observed in value orientation according to integrative complexity, 4) significant differences were observed in value extremity according to integrative complexity level, 5) significant differences were observed in mediated communication according to integrative complexity level, and 6) significant differences were observed in blame pattern according to group affiliation. Only one null hypothesis was not rejected: no support was found for a connection between integrative complexity and attribution style. These results indicate support for the integrative complexity index, though work to refine the measure seems in order. Additional recommendations for future research include investigating new approaches to examining the relationship between integrative complexity and attribution style.

Microorganisms provide essential services for host organisms and this is especially true for communities of algal symbionts and bacteria hosted by tropical reef-building corals–collectively termed the coral holobiont. Endosymbiotic algae provide essential nutrients to the host, and can impact coral growth and susceptibility to environmental stress. Corals also associate with a diverse microbiome, and specific bacterial taxa have been implicated in important nutritional and immunity roles. However, fundamental questions regarding the environmental factors that govern coral holobiont composition remain unanswered. The overarching goal of my dissertation is to characterize how environmental variation, including disturbance, influences the composition of coral-associated algal and bacterial communities. To achieve this goal, I first compared these communities across reef zones (locales differing in diel thermal variability and other factors) in tandem with host genetic background under baseline conditions. I found that in the more stable reef zone, algal communities were more diverse and that host genetic diversity correlated with bacterial diversity, implying the more variable reef zone constrained diversity of host-microbial partnerships. Next, I characterized how these communities responded to a hurricane disturbance in two stress-tolerant congeneric coral species. Again, I observed stark differences across reef zones in algal symbiont and bacterial communities, but these communities were not exceptionally impacted by disturbance. Finally, I experimentally tested the role of daily thermal variability as a key environmental factor in shaping holobiont community composition and heat tolerance. While thermal variation treatment increased algal photosynthetic efficiency, it did not facilitate coral thermal tolerance to heat stress. Specific bacterial taxa were differentially abundant after 90 days in treatment acclimation, suggesting that thermal variation may contribute to part of the observed community differences across natural reef zones. In sum, this dissertation provides a deeper understanding of the interplay between coral-associated microorganisms and their local reef environments, as well as taxa-specific patterns of interest for monitoring coral holobiont dynamics under rapidly changing oceans.

As the world continues to experience substantial rates of habitat loss, habitat restoration has become of prime interest to ecologists worldwide. Restoration has shown to be successful in recovering targeted components of certain ecosystems but it is important to achieve a holistic understanding of the resulting ecological impacts it has on communities. To address this, four oyster reefs and three living shorelines were restored during the summer of 2017. These sites, along with four dead oyster reefs, four living oyster reefs, and three undisturbed (control) living shorelines, were sampled before restoration and regularly post-restoration for one year using lift nets. Macroinvertebrates were collected and enumerated in the lab. Diversity indices, community composition, and similarity percentages were then calculated and compared across treatments, time, and treatment-by-time. Live reefs displayed significantly higher species richness and Shannon diversity than restored and dead reefs. Simpson diversity did not differ between live and restored oyster reefs but both were significantly higher than dead reefs. Though not statistically detectable, species richness and Shannon diversity on restored reefs were relatively similar to dead reefs before restoration but became increasingly similar to live reefs over the course of the study. Additionally, analyses revealed significantly different community compositions between live reefs and restored reefs, as well as between live and dead reefs. Living shorelines showed no significant differences in diversity indices but did experience similar seasonal fluctuations in diversity across treatments. Just as with oyster reefs, restored and control living shorelines harbored significantly different communities across time. The findings of this study emphasize the need for dedication to thorough monitoring and multi-metric evaluation of success in restoration efforts. This study and future research will equip resource managers with ways to quantify the effects of restoration that will consider several important ecosystem components.