May 18, 2020
My name is Jordan Heiman and I am a PhD student here at the University of Mississippi. For my graduate research, I am investigating coral chimerism in Eilat, Israel on the Red Sea. Chimerism is the occurrence of multiple genotypes of the same species cooccurring in one organism. In corals, this can confer both costs and benefits to the organism. Although some is understood about these costs and benefits, little research has been done on coral chimeras. I am investigating how chimeric corals differ from non-chimeric corals, how chimeras may mitigate stressful conditions, how genotype-genotype conflict may be resolved in chimeras, and how chimerism impacts the many symbiotic relationships associated with corals. This research may impact future restoration efforts as chimeras may be a way to conserve biodiversity and increase survival in corals used for restoration