Publications

A Network Approach to White Band Disease Challenged Staghorn Coral Acropora cervicornis microRNAs and Their Targets

Despard, B.A., Selwyn, J.D., Shupp, A.N. and Vollmer, S.V.

Ecology and Evolution, 15: e71351 (2025)

Used network analysis to identify microRNA-target interactions in disease-challenged staghorn corals, revealing post-transcriptional gene regulation mechanisms during white band disease infection. This work advances understanding of epigenetic factors in coral disease resistance.

Antibiotic pretreatment inhibits white band disease infection by suppressing the bacterial pathobiome

Selwyn, J. D., Despard, B. A., Galvan-Dubois, K. A., Trytten, E. C., & Vollmer, S. V.

Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1491476 (2025)

Demonstrated that prophylactic antibiotic treatment reduces white band disease infection rates by 30 percentage points by suppressing Vibrio species and other opportunistic pathogens in coral microbiomes. Provides insights into disease prevention strategies for coral restoration.

Machine learning based identification of putative coral pathogens in endangered Caribbean staghorn coral

Selwyn, JD, Despard, BA, Vollmer, MV, Trytten EC, Vollmer, SV

Environmental Microbiology 26 (9) e16700 (2024)

Applied machine learning approaches to identify potential coral pathogens from microbiome data, advancing understanding of white band disease etiology in endangered Caribbean staghorn corals. Demonstrates the power of computational approaches in coral disease research.

Genomic signatures of disease resistance in endangered staghorn corals

Vollmer, S. V., Selwyn, J. D., Despard, B. A., & Roesel, C. L.

Science, 381(6665), 1451-1454 (2023)

Breakthrough genome-wide association study identifying 10 genomic regions and 73 SNPs associated with white band disease resistance. Shows that polygenic scores can accurately predict disease resistance in Caribbean staghorn corals, providing critical tools for coral restoration efforts.

Whole genome assembly and annotation of the endangered Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis

Selwyn, J. D., & Vollmer, S. V.

G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics, Volume 13, Issue 12, jkad232 (2023)

Assembled and annotated the first high-quality reference genome for endangered staghorn coral, providing a crucial genomic resource that enables population genomics and conservation research for this critically endangered species.

Environmental and geographical factors structure cauliflower coral's algal symbioses across the Indo‐Pacific

Glynn, V. M., Vollmer, S. V., Kline, D. I., & Barrett, R. D.

Journal of Biogeography, 50(4), 669-684 (2023)

Comprehensive analysis of how environmental and geographical factors influence coral-algal symbioses across the Indo-Pacific, revealing patterns of symbiont community structure in cauliflower corals and their adaptive significance.

Multi-variate analyses of coral mortality from the 2014–2015 stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak off Miami-Dade County, Florida

Spadafore, R, Fura, R, Precht, WF, & Vollmer, SV

Frontiers in Marine Science. 8:723998 (2021)

Comprehensive multi-variate analysis of coral mortality patterns during the devastating 2014-2015 stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak in South Florida, providing insights into disease spread patterns and species susceptibility.

Host-microbial systems as glass cannons: Explaining microbiome stability in corals exposed to extrinsic perturbations

Dunphy CM, Vollmer SV, Gouhier TC

Journal of Animal Ecology 90(5):1044-1057 (2021)

Theoretical framework explaining coral microbiome stability under environmental stress, introducing the "glass cannon" concept where corals maintain stable microbiomes until critical thresholds are exceeded, leading to rapid community shifts.

U-Th dating of Holocene age Acropora prolifera (Lamarck, 1816) colonies confirms coral hybridization is not a recent phenomenon

Modys, AB; Mortlock, RA; Vollmer, SV; Kaufman, L; Precht WR

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 133 (1): 72–75 (2020)

Used uranium-thorium dating to demonstrate that coral hybridization between Acropora species has been occurring for thousands of years, not just recently due to climate stress, providing evolutionary context for current hybridization patterns.

Transcriptomics reveals specific molecular mechanisms underlying transgenerational immunity in Manduca sexta

Roesel, CL, Rosengaus, RB, Smith, W; Vollmer, SV

Ecology and Evolution 10, 11251–11261 (2020)

Transcriptomic analysis revealing molecular mechanisms of transgenerational immunity in tobacco hornworm moths, demonstrating how immune priming can be passed from parents to offspring through epigenetic modifications.

Differential gene expression analysis of symbiotic and aposymbiotic Exaiptasia anemones under immune challenge with Vibrio coralliilyticus

Roesel, CL; Vollmer, SV

Ecology and Evolution 9 (14), 8279-8293 (2019)

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of symbiotic versus aposymbiotic sea anemones under bacterial challenge, revealing how algal symbionts influence host immune responses and providing insights into coral-algae-bacteria interactions.

Structure and stability of the coral microbiome in space and time

Dunphy, CM; Gouhier, TC; Chu, ND; Vollmer, SV

Scientific Reports 9 (1) 6785 (2019)

Large-scale analysis of coral microbiome structure and stability across spatial and temporal scales, revealing fundamental principles governing coral-microbial community dynamics and their implications for coral health and resilience.

Fossil Acropora prolifera (Lamarck, 1816) reveals coral hybridization in not only a recent phenomenon

Precht, WF; Vollmer, SV; Modys, AB, Kaufman, L

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 132: 40 – 55 (2019)

Paleontological evidence demonstrating that coral hybridization between Acropora species has been occurring throughout the Holocene, providing evolutionary context for understanding modern coral hybridization patterns and reef dynamics.

Inhibiting bacterial quorum sensing arrests coral disease development and disease-associated microbes

Certner, RH and Vollmer, SV

Environmental Microbiology, 20(2), 645–657 (2018)

Demonstrated that inhibiting bacterial quorum sensing can arrest coral disease development and reduce disease-associated microbes, revealing quorum sensing as a key mechanism in coral disease progression and a potential target for disease control.

Zooplankton as a potential vector for white band disease transmission in the endangered coral, Acropora cervicornis

Certner, RM; Dwyer, AM; Patterson, MR; Vollmer, SV

PeerJ 5, e3502 (2017)

Complex interactions between potentially pathogenic, opportunistic, and resident bacteria emerge during infection on a reef-building coral

Gignoux-Wolfsohn, SA; Aronson, FM; Vollmer, SV

FEMS Microbiology Ecology 93 (7) (2017)

Ecological rescue of host-microbial systems under environmental change

Pillai, P; Gouhier, TC; Vollmer, SV

Theoretical Ecology 10 (1), 51-63 (2017)

Caribbean corals house shared and host-specific microbial symbionts over time and space

Chu, ND; Vollmer, SV

Environmental Microbiology Reports. 8 (4) 493 – 500 (2016)

Genetic Signature of Resistance to White Band Disease in the Caribbean Staghorn Coral Acropora cervicornis

Libro, S; Vollmer, SV

PLoS one 11 (1), e0146636 (2016)

De novo transcriptome assembly for the lobster Homarus americanus and characterization of differential gene expression across nervous system tissues

McGrath, LL; Vollmer, SV; Kaluziak, ST; Ayers, J

BMC Genomics 17 (1), 1- 16 (2016)

Diurnal and nocturnal transcriptomic variation in the Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis

Hemond, EM; Vollmer SV

Molecular ecology 24 (17), 4460-4473 (2015)

Identification of Candidate Coral Pathogens on White Band Disease-Infected Staghorn Coral

Gignoux-Wolfsohn, SA; Vollmer, SV

PloS one 10 (8), e0134416 (2015)

Trans-Pacific RAD-Seq population genomics confirms introgressive hybridization in Eastern Pacific Pocillopora corals

Combosch, DJ; Vollmer, SV

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 88, 154-162 (2015)

Evidence for Autoinduction and Quorum Sensing in White Band Disease-Causing Microbes on Acropora cervicornis

Certner, RH; Vollmer, SV

Scientific reports 5(1), 11134 (2015)

The genetics of colony form and function in Caribbean Acropora corals

Hemond, EM; Kaluziak, ST; Vollmer, SV

BMC genomics 15 (1), 1133 (2014)

Thermal stress and predation risk trigger distinct transcriptomic responses in the intertidal snail Nucella lapillus

Chu, N; Miller, L; Kaluziak, S; Trussell, G; Vollmer, S.

Molecular Ecology 23 (24), 6104-6113 (2014)

The cryptic role of biodiversity in the emergence of host-microbial mutualisms

Pillai, P; Vollmer, S; Gouhier, T

Ecology Letters, 17 (11), 1437–1446 (2014)

Phylogenomic analyses reveal latitudinal population structure and polymorphisms in heat stress genes in the North Atlantic snail Nucella lapillus

Chu, N; Kaluziak, S; Trussell, G; Vollmer, S.

Molecular Ecology 23 (7): 1863 - 1873 (2014)

Transcriptome analyses and differential gene expression in a non-model fish species with alternative mating tactics

Schunter, CM; Vollmer, SV; Macpherson, E; Pascual, M.

BMC Genomics, 15 (1), 167 (2014)

RNA-seq profiles of Immune Related Genes in the Staghorn Coral Acropora cervicornis infected with White Band Disease

Libro, S; Kaluziak, S; Vollmer, SV

PLoS ONE, 8(11), e81821 (2013)

Understanding the coral holobiont through science and SCUBA

Vollmer, SV; Baker, A; Coffroth, MAC; Harvell; CD, Medina.

Smithsonian Contributions to Marine Science 39: 173-186 (2013)

Mixed asexual and sexual reproduction in the Indo‐Pacific reef coral Pocillopora damicornis

Combosch, D J; Vollmer, SV

Ecology and Evolution, 3(10), 3379–3387 (2013)

White Band Disease transmission in the threatened coral, Acropora cervicornis

Gignoux-Wolfsohn, S; Marks, C; Vollmer, SV.

Scientific Reports 2: 804 (2012)

ENSO drives 2,600-year collapse of eastern Pacific coral reefs

Toth, LT; Aronson, RB; Vollmer, SV; Hobbs, JW; Urrego, DH; Cheng, H; Bush, MB; Enochs, IC, Combosch, DJ, van Woesik, R; Macintyre, IG.

Science 337 (6090): 81-84 (2012)

Weak Prezygotic Isolating Mechanisms in Threatened Caribbean Acropora Corals

Fogarty, NK; Vollmer, SV; Levitan, DR.

PLoS One 7(2):e30486 (2012)

The role of genes in understanding the evolutionary ecology of reef building corals

Palumbi, SR; Vollmer SV; Romano, S; Oliver, T; Lander, J

Evolutionary Ecology. 26: 317 – 335 (2011)

Population genetics of an ecosystem-defining reef coral – Pocillopora damicornis in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Combosch, DJ; Vollmer, SV

PLoS One 6(8): e21200 (2011)

White Band Disease (type I) of endangered Caribbean acroporid corals is caused by pathogenic bacteria

Kline, D, and Vollmer, SV

Scientific Reports 1, 7 (2011)

Phylogeographic analysis reveals a deep lineage split within North Atlantic Littorina saxatilis

Doellman, MM, Trussell, GC, Grahame, JW, and Vollmer, SV

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 278(1722), 3175–3183 (2011)

Limited gene flow in the brooding coral Favia Fragum (Esper, 1797)

Goodbody-Gringley, G, Vollmer, SV, Woollacott, RM, and Giribet, G.

Marine Biology. 157: 2591-2602 (2010)

Genetic diversity and connectivity in the threatened staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) in Florida

Hemond, EM and Vollmer, SV

PloS One, 5(1), e8652 (2010)

Natural disease resistance in threatened reef corals

Vollmer, SV and Kline, D.

PLoS One 3(11) e3718 (2008)

Interspecific hybridization and restricted Transpacific gene flow in the tropical eastern Pacific Pocillopora

Combosch, D.J, Guzmán, HM, Schuhmacher, H and Vollmer, SV.

Molecular Ecology 17: 1304-1312 (2008)

Re-evaluation of the systematics of the endemic corals of Brazil by molecular data

Nunes, F, Fukami, H, Vollmer, SV, Knowlton, N and Norris, RD.

Coral Reefs. 27: 423-432 (2008)

Restricted gene flow in the Caribbean Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis: implications for the recovery of endangered reefs

Vollmer, SV and Palumbi, SR.

Journal of Heredity 98:40-50 (2007)

The role of hybridization in the evolution of reef corals

Willis, BL, van Oppen, MJH, Miller, DJ, Vollmer, SV and Ayre, DJ.

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 37:489–517 (2006)

Testing the utility of ITS sequences in coral phylogenetics

Vollmer, SV and Palumbi, SR

Molecular Ecology 13:2763–2772 (2004)

Hybridization and the evolution of reef coral diversity

Vollmer, SV and Palumbi, SR.

Science 296:2023–2025 (2002)

Unisexual clones: lizards and corals

Vollmer, SV and Palumbi, SR.

Science 298:2130–2131 (2002)

Allometric scaling in small colonies of the scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander)

Vollmer, SV and Edmunds, PJ.

Biological Bulletin 199:21–28 (2000)