Advancing reef coral diagnostic capabilities using molecular biotechnology and artificial intelligence

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science Vol. 339; no. 1; pp. 12019 - 12032
• Main Author: Mayfield, A B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.10.2019
• Subjects: Algorithms; Anthropogenic factors; Artificial intelligence; Biodiversity; Biotechnology; Climate change; Coral reef ecosystems; Coral reefs; Corals; Environmental changes; Human impact; Human influences; Marine organisms; Prediction models; Resilience
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/339/1/012019

Coral reef ecosystems around the planet are threatened by an onslaught of anthropogenic stressors, most notably global climate change (GCC); indeed, no regions have been spared from our wide-ranging human impact. Consequently, there has been an urgent push to 1) model how marine organisms will respond to future changes in their environments and 2) make data-driven predictions as to which populations are most stress sensitive. Given our recently elevated level of understanding of the responses of reef-building corals to environmental change and GCC, we are now in a position in which it may be possible to make projections as to which corals are most susceptible to GCC, as well as which will likely demonstrate resilience. Herein I explore the potential for data-trained predictive modeling approaches based on artificial intelligence to generate models that can accurately predict coral stress susceptibility (CSS). Specifically, I advocate that coral reef-focused partial least squares and neural networking algorithms (trained with either molecular or environmental data) should be developed, with their prognostic capability then field-tested at sites that span a gradient of human impact and ecological resilience in the high-biodiversity "Coral Triangle." If the developed predictive models are characterized by the analytical capacity to forecast CSS, we will possess one means of identifying reefs that should be prioritized for conservation in this era of rapidly changing global climate.