Virtual Summit Submission

University of California San Diego
Marine Biology

Biography

Audrey Schneider is a fourth-year Marine Biology major at the University of California, San Diego. Motivated by a deep commitment to protecting marine ecosystems from human impacts, she developed an interest in microbial ecology early in her undergraduate career. Through her work in Dr. Jack Gilbert’s lab, Audrey has contributed to projects exploring how microbial communities can enhance ecosystem resilience and support coral restoration. Her research focuses on leveraging the microbiome to strengthen reef health, and she plans to pursue a Ph.D. investigating coral probiotics and microbial strategies for reef conservation.

Project

Assessing microbial community compositions of Zoanthus sansibaricus across Okinawa, Japan
Zoanthids are widespread throughout the world and play an important role in shallow water ecosystems. Like hard corals, the zoanthid Zoanthus sansibaricus hosts symbiotic algae that provide nutrients to the animal, yet this group remains understudied despite its potential to dominate reef communities as coral cover declines. As climate change and coastal urbanization cause major environmental shifts, it is increasingly important to understand how these pressures influence marine organisms and their associated microbes. In my study, I investigated how urbanization affects the microbial communities of Z. sansibaricus collected from high, medium and low impacted reef sites in Okinawa, Japan. Using microbial sequencing data and environmental measurements, I compared the microbial diversity and composition between these sites. I hypothesized that colonies from impacted areas would show greater microbial variability due to exposure to pathogenic and anthropogenic-associated microbes. By identifying how microbial communities shift in response to human influence, this research helps us better understand the resilience of zoanthids in changing environments. As reefs continue to degrade, these insights may reveal how alternative reef-builders like zoanthids could shape the future structure and stability of tropical reef ecosystems.