Aquatic sciences are increasingly global in nature, transcending political boundaries and requiring collaboration with foreign scientists and working in other countries. Planning and executing collaborative research projects overseas, however, is not trivial. Challenges include communicating with scientists in a different country, obtaining funding for international work, overcoming technical obstacles such as shipping and permits, and navigating language and cultural barriers. The recent global pandemic has added a new layer of challenge to carrying out international research. We invite participants of all career stages to share their experiences from both productive and not so successful adventures in conducting international collaborative research.
We seek presentations on international collaboration related to funding, identifying collaborators, executing projects, overcoming obstacles, developing teams, leveraging mutual advantages and infrastructure, handling difficulties, and successful outcomes. The session will include submissions by students participating in ASLO’s NSF-funded program “Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX)” which aims to foster international research collaborations through professional development and a research exchange for graduate students. We hope this session will help others avoid pitfalls, take advantage of opportunities, and increase likelihood of effective and fun international collaborations in the aquatic sciences.
Website: https://www.aslo.org/lorex/
Lead Organizer: Brittany Schieler, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (communications@aslo.org)
Co-organizers:
Adina Paytan, University of California Santa Cruz (apaytan@ucsc.edu)
Mike Pace, University of Virginia (pacem@virginia.edu)
Linda Duguay, University of Southern California (duguay@usc.edu)
Presentations
10:30 AM
EXPLORING THE RANGE OF CTENOPHORE ECTOSYMBIONTS OF THE ISRAELI MEDITERRANEAN COAST (4668)
Primary Presenter: Antrelle Clark, Auburn University (antrelleclark@gmail.com)
The overarching goal of this project is to determine whether eastern Mediterranean Israeli coast populations of the invasive ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi, bear ectosymbiotic amoebae similar or identical to ctenophores of the United States Gulf and southern Atlantic coast. Since invasive M. leidyi originated from the northern Gulf of Mexico (Reusch et al 2010; Bolte, 2013), they may have carried with them their unique symbiotic assemblage. In this study, we intend to determine how closely the coastal US and Israeli ctenophore populations are related with regard to the host DNA as well as the identity of the [eukaryotic] ectosymbiotic population. Ctenophores will be collected during the 8-week period from three different sites along the Mediterranean Israeli coast that experience different environmental conditions. The ctenophores will be examined using microscopy and imaging methods for the presence of comb plate amoebae. Amoebae will be removed from the ctenophores and described using morphological and movement characteristics. In addition, collected amoebae cells will be prepped for DNA extraction and sent back to Auburn University for further analysis. Results from this study will help us better understand the relationship between the ctenophore and its symbionts and how varying climates can play a role in their association. Results from this study might also help shed further light on the reason for the extremely invasive host’s success in invading all of the European Seas in the 1990-2012 period.
10:45 AM
MAKING A LIMITED TIME-FRAME WORK FOR INITIATION OF LONG-DISTANCE RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS (7372)
Primary Presenter: Sierra Cagle, Texas A&M University Galveston (sec1414@tamu.edu)
Face-to-face interaction can benefit the establishment of new research collaborations, especially the early stages of relationship development with new colleagues. However, extended periods of travel are not possible for many individuals due to time constraints. In my case, the constraint was related to having a very young child. I'll discuss how this limitation influenced my experience as part of ASLO’s Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange Program (LOREX), which was my first independently initiated international research endeavor. I’ll reflect on what I learned, 1) initiating an international research collaboration through the LOREX program which involved developing a proposal and identifying a potential collaborator with which to work; 2) negotiating travel commitments with program leaders and with a new international colleague; and 3) making the most out of a relatively short in-person stay in at my collaborator’s research institute. I'll also touch on why the type of research I was conducting at the time facilitated a short-term research visit and challenges related to keeping project momentum rolling post visit. I hope to show that willingness to think outside the box, extensive planning coupled with prep-work, staying flexible and setting realistic goals can lead to successful short-period collaboration initiations. Spoiler alert… these are not all things I did successfully. However, working with an experienced collaborator who was flexible, enthusiastic, kind, and all around awesome led to an amazing learning, life, and research experience.
11:00 AM
DETERMINING THE ACCURACY OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC PH MEASUREMENTS WITH OVERDETERMINED MARINE CARBON DIOXIDE DATASETS (6211)
Primary Presenter: Marina Fennell, University of California, Irvine (mfennell@uci.edu)
The uptake of anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> from the atmosphere produces a global decrease in ocean pH, a process known as ocean acidification. To quantify changes, in-situ sensors are deployed to measure carbonate chemistry in addition to discrete laboratory-based measurements being taken on research cruises. This creates a currently unfulfilled need to ‘intercalibrate’ or validate the various types of data. The need for intercalibration of data is an inherently international problem and improving communication between universities across countries has the exciting potential to uncover new answers to the intercalibration challenges currently being discussed in the ocean carbon monitoring community. With the help of the LOREX international exchange program, I will visit Dalhousie University and begin an exchange of science between Nova Scotia and Irvine. I plan to investigate the offsets in spectrophotometric pH measurements taken by my collaborators at Dalhousie University with a new marine CO2<sub>2</sub>-system solver that can handle the overdetermined case currently being developed by my advisor and I. Called QUODcarb, it finds the most probable CO<sub>2</sub>-system state given the measurements and their precisions by reformulating the seawater carbonate chemistry equations into a Bayesian inference problem. I expect this collaboration to be a pilot application of the new solver to assess data quality and internal consistency of the host’s dataset. In the following talk I will share how we hope Dalhousie’s oceangoing marine scientists can begin to collaborate with Irvine’s global ocean modelers.
11:15 AM
International collaborations in the time of a global pandemic (2019-2022) (6771)
Primary Presenter: Carrie Sharitt, Miami University, OH (sharitca@miamioh.edu)
Before applying to be part of ASLO’s “Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX)” in 2019, I already realized that international travel requires much planning and flexibility. This exchange would bring together researchers from Miami University (Ohio) and the University of Montréal (UdeM), and I communicated with my collaborators via email to plan and ensure the project would be successful as part of my dissertation. In February of 2020, I attended the Ocean Science Meeting to meet other participants and receive training helpful for international collaborations. Just a few weeks later, I started to learn that successful international collaborations require infinitely more planning and flexibility during a global pandemic. In the summer of 2022, I was finally able to travel to UdeM’s field station to conduct my research exploring the impact of parasites on nutrient excretion by fish in a warming world. The collaboration brought together researchers with different expertise allowing for a project that would not otherwise be feasible. Additionally, this project pushed me outside my comfort zone as I selected my weekly meals in French, acquired tons of blackfly bites, and worked to share living organisms with other graduate student researchers. Ultimately, my LOREX was advantageous as it allowed me to experience planning and executing a collaborative project, build relationships with other scientists, and expand my knowledge.
11:30 AM
SHIFTING MICROBIOMES IN CORAL COLONIES THROUH TIME AND DISEASE PROGRESSION (4873)
Primary Presenter: Jeanne Bloomberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (jeanne.bloomberg@whoi.edu)
Coral reefs in the western Atlantic are declining drastically due to the emergence of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Attempts to characterize the microbiome associated with SCTLD is difficult because baseline microbial knowledge of healthy corals is sparse, and past studies relied only on visual assessments of health state. To address this limitation, this study combines fate tracking and microbiome tracking of known healthy corals before and after SCTLD arrival. From <em>Colpophyllia natans</em> colonies, tissue and near coral seawater were sampled at U.S. Virgin Islands reefs that were not yet affected by SCTLD. After SCTLD appeared on the reef, coral and water samples were taken from the same colonies at 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks and at 6 months. The 16S ribosomal RNA gene of the bacteria and archaea in the coral and water samples was sequenced to quantify the microbial communities through time. Of the 13 colonies, 10 became affected by SCTLD. Most colonies experienced total mortality, but three showed halting of lesions. Distinct microbial signatures of SCTLD were found in both sample types, but the disease signal was surprisingly stronger in the seawater than the coral tissue. Seawater microbes exhibited more community level changes than the corals over time. Both seawater and tissue of diseased colonies displayed increases in Campylobacterota, Firmicutes, and Desulfobacteria. By combining fate tracking with microbiome data, this study sheds light on the dynamic nature of the interaction between coral microbiome and health state.
11:45 AM
LOREX’s Down Under: Surfing the Academic Waves of International Collaboration (5908)
Primary Presenter: Josué Millán, Indiana State University (josue.g.millan@gmail.com)
Doing research abroad is a desirable experience that can significantly benefit any scientist at any professional level. The opportunity to collaborate in person with peers from different countries and cultures can enhance your technical abilities and expand your perspective in your field while allowing for self-reflection. Besides all the positive outcomes that international collaboration could result in, it also comes with specific hardships and responsibilities unique to this type of experience. Before arrival, it is important to identify which steps are critical in your project. Being aware of processes that could jeopardize your collaboration will help you develop strategies to solve and circumvent problems quickly. Hence, time management and a good sense of time are crucial for an effective international collaboration because your stay is limited. Nevertheless, during your project, you will encounter problems you can’t solve but are still not a deterrent for a successful LOREX experience. With effective communication, flexibility, and tolerance, you can: get visa paperwork promptly, delay the project for a better schedule, redesign your project on the go, learn new techniques, and achieve multiple goals, everything while petting the local wildlife. However, the experience out of the lab with your peers and mentor is as important, if not more, as what you want to achieve in the laboratory. If Australia is the destination for your next international collaboration, remember to schedule tea, lunch, coffee break, and barby with your mates.
EP005B Adventures, Challenges, and Benefits of Conducting International Collaborative Research
Description
Time: 10:30 AM
Date: 7/6/2023
Room: Sala Menorca A