Vize, Peter D.Wuitchik, Daniel Michael2018-02-022018-02-022018-01-25http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106386Reef-building coral of the Great Barrier Reef demonstrate remarkably synchronized and precise timing of reproduction. They achieve this precision through sophisticated biological clock systems entrained by their local environment. This thesis explores how temperature and lunar light modulates the biological clocks of Acropora millepora by measuring transcriptomic changes with RNA-sequencing. Coral colonies were collected and maintained under artificial lunar light at the Heron Island Research Station under cool and warm temperature treatments corresponding to winter and summer averages at this locale. Individuals were sampled over a 24-hour period during a full lunar month to capture long-term daily profiles of gene expression. It was found that numerous biological clock genes were impacted by temperature and lunar light. Furthermore, temperature and lunar phase altered the expression of interesting hormonal pathways involved in reproductive behaviours. These data will help elucidate the mechanisms underlying the precise timing of reproduction in reef-building coral and the effect that different temperatures have on this process.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Biological clockGene expressionTranscriptomicsMarine biologyCoralEducation--SciencesEcologymaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/5465