Sarah Davies | Profiles RNS

Sarah Whitney Davies

Associate Professor

Boston University Arts & Sciences

Biology

PhD, University of Texas at Austin
MS, University of Calgary
BS, University of Victoria

Websites

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	ResearchGate

ORCID : 0000-0002-1620-2278

Changing climates and ongoing anthropogenic habitat modifications threaten natural ecosystems worldwide. In response to these threats, a species has four choices: i) remain in the natal habitat but suffer reduced fitness, ii) acclimate to current conditions by modifying their physiologies, iii) adapt to the local environment through natural selection on standing genetic variation, or iv) disperse to new, more favorable environments. Research in the Davies lab studies the potential roles of acclimation, adaptation, and dispersal in an organism’s response to rapid climate change.

Predicting persistence becomes more challenging when a species’ fitness depends upon interactions between multiple partners. For corals, their fitness is tightly coupled with their symbiotic relationship with algae of the family Symbiodiniaceae, and this symbiosis is strongly influenced by increasing seawater temperatures. Research in the Davies lab integrates eco-evolutionary experiments with genomic and environmental data to determine how corals and their symbionts interact with each other and their environments to determine symbiosis outcomes under rapid climate change.

BU Research

Postdoctoral Fellowship: OCE-PRF: Effects of dual anthropogenic stressors across life history in a reef-building coral
12/01/2025 - 11/30/2027 (Key Person / Mentor)
National Science Foundation
OCE-2506815

Collaborative Research: An Integrative Investigation of Dispersal Plasticity Using a Coral Reef Fish
09/01/2024 - 08/31/2027 (Multi-PI)
PI: Sarah Whitney Davies
National Science Foundation
OCE-2346428

The role of diel thermal variability on coral performance
09/01/2024 - 08/31/2027 (PI)
National Science Foundation
OCE-2402528

Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Illumina NextSeq 2000 Sequencing Instrument
09/01/2023 - 08/31/2026 (Multi-PI)
PI: Sarah Whitney Davies
National Science Foundation
CBET-2320685

Transcription Factors in Cnidarian Immunity, Symbiosis, and Bleaching
03/01/2020 - 02/28/2026 (Multi-PI)
PI: Sarah Whitney Davies
National Science Foundation
IOS-1937650

Collaborative Research: How do selection, plasticity, and dispersal interact to determine coral success in warmer and more variable environments?
11/15/2021 - 10/31/2025 (PI)
National Science Foundation
OCE-2048589

Collaborative Research: Building consensus around the quantification and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity
08/15/2021 - 07/31/2023 (PI)
National Science Foundation
OCE-2127506

Outside your shell: How genomic architecture and thermal limits facilitate species invasions in marine mollusks
07/01/2021 - 06/30/2022 (Key Person / Mentor)
Turner Foundation

Reef connectivity and resilience in the Gulf of Mexico
09/01/2018 - 12/31/2020 (PI)
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

RAPID: Collaborative Research: Impact of freshwater runoff from Hurricane Harvey on coral reef benthic of organisms and associated microbial communities
12/01/2017 - 11/30/2019 (PI)
National Science Foundation
OCE-1800904

Showing 10 of 12 results. Show All Results

Title

Yr	Title	Project-Sub Proj	Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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Lock C, Miller TC, Anthony CJ, Rouzé H, Fifer J, McDermott G, Tramonte CA, Paulino L, Davies SW, Raymundo L, Bentlage B. Symbiodiniaceae and Bacterial Microbiome Dynamics Differentially Impact the Survival of Dominant Reef-Flat Porites Corals. Environ Microbiol. 2025 Sep; 27(9):e70175. PMID: 40944450; PMCID: PMC12432680; DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.70175;

Baker AC, Baums IB, Davies SW, Grottoli AG, Kenkel CD, Kitchen SA, Kuffner IB, Matz MV, Miller MW, Muller EM, Parkinson JE, Prada C, Shantz AA, Hooidonk RV, Winters S. Proactive assisted gene flow for Caribbean corals in an era of rapid coral reef decline. Science. 2025 Jul 24; 389(6758):344-347. PMID: 40705881

Da-Anoy J, Toyama KS, Jasnos O, Wong AW, Gilmore TD, Davies SW. Microbial Depletion Is Associated with Slower Cnidarian Regeneration. Integr Comp Biol. 2025 Jul 23; 65(1):139-151.View Related Profiles.

Davies, Sarah
Gilmore, Thomas

PMID: 40068937

Stankiewicz KH, Guiglielmoni N, Kitchen SA, Flot JF, Barott KL, Davies SW, Finnerty JR, Grace SP, Kaufman LS, Putnam HM, Rotjan RD, Sharp KH, Peters EC, Baums IB. Genomic comparison of the temperate coral Astrangia poculata with tropical corals yields insights into winter quiescence, innate immunity, and sexual reproduction. G3 (Bethesda). 2025 Apr 17; 15(4). PMID: 39964876; PMCID: PMC12005167; DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkaf033;

Aichelman HE, Benson BE, Gomez-Campo K, Martinez-Rugerio MI, Fifer JE, Tsang L, Hughes AM, Bove CB, Nieves OC, Pereslete AM, Stanizzi D, Kriefall NG, Baumann JH, Rippe JP, Gondola P, Castillo KD, Davies SW. Cryptic coral diversity is associated with symbioses, physiology, and response to thermal challenge. Sci Adv. 2025 Jan 17; 11(3):eadr5237.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 39813343; PMCID: PMC11734718; DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr5237;

Valadez-Ingersoll M, Rivera HE, Da-Anoy J, Kanke MR, Gomez-Campo K, Martinez Rugerio MI, Metz S, Sweet M, Kwan J, Hekman R, Emili A, Gilmore TD, Davies SW. Cell type-specific immune regulation under symbiosis in a facultatively symbiotic coral. ISME J. 2025 Jan 02; 19(1).View Related Profiles.

Davies, Sarah
Gilmore, Thomas

PMID: 40569035; PMCID: PMC12278269; DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wraf132;

Grupstra CGB, Meyer-Kaiser KS, Bennett MJ, Andres MO, Juszkiewicz DJ, Fifer JE, Da-Anoy JP, Gomez-Campo K, Martinez-Rugerio I, Aichelman HE, Huzar AK, Hughes AM, Rivera HE, Davies SW. Holobiont Traits Shape Climate Change Responses in Cryptic Coral Lineages. Glob Chang Biol. 2024 Nov; 30(11):e17578.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 39600252

Li Shing Hiung DLCY, Schuster JM, Duncan MI, Payne NL, Helmuth B, Chu JWF, Baum JK, Brambilla V, Bruno J, Davies SW, Dornelas M, Gagnon P, Guy-Haim T, Jackson JM, Leichter JJ, Madin JS, Monteith ZL, Queirós AM, Schneider EVC, Starko S, Talwar BS, Wyatt ASJ, Aichelman HE, Bensoussan N, Caruso C, Castillo K, Choi F, Dong YW, Garrabou J, Guillemain D, Higgs N, Jiang Y, Kersting DK, Kushner DJ, Longo GO, Neufeld C, Peirache M, Smyth T, Sprague JL, Urvoy G, Zuberer F, Bates AE. Ocean weather, biological rates, and unexplained global ecological patterns. PNAS Nexus. 2024 Aug; 3(8):pgae260.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 39108306; PMCID: PMC11302846; DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae260;

Strader ME, Wright RM, Pezner AK, Nuttall MF, Aichelman HE, Davies SW. Intersection of coral molecular responses to a localized mortality event and ex situ deoxygenation. Ecol Evol. 2024 Apr; 14(4):e11275.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 38654712; PMCID: PMC11036075; DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11275;

Castillo KD, Bove CB, Hughes AM, Powell ME, Ries JB, Davies SW. Gene expression plasticity facilitates acclimatization of a long-lived Caribbean coral across divergent reef environments. Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 03; 14(1):7859. PMID: 38570591; PMCID: PMC10991280; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57319-0;

Showing 10 of 41 results. Show More

Aichelman HE, Huzar AK, Wuitchik DM, Atherton KF, Wright RM, Dixon G, Schlatter E, Haftel N, Davies SW. Symbiosis modulates gene expression of symbionts, but not coral hosts, under thermal challenge. Mol Ecol. 2024 Apr; 33(8):e17318.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 38488669

Valadez-Ingersoll M, Aguirre Carrión PJ, Bodnar CA, Desai NA, Gilmore TD, Davies SW. Starvation differentially affects gene expression, immunity and pathogen susceptibility across symbiotic states in a model cnidarian. Proc Biol Sci. 2024 Feb 28; 291(2017):20231685.View Related Profiles.

Davies, Sarah
Gilmore, Thomas

PMID: 38412969; PMCID: PMC10898965; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1685;

Grupstra CGB, Gómez-Corrales M, Fifer JE, Aichelman HE, Meyer-Kaiser KS, Prada C, Davies SW. Integrating cryptic diversity into coral evolution, symbiosis and conservation. Nat Ecol Evol. 2024 Apr; 8(4):622-636.View Related Profiles.

Grupstra, Carsten Guillaume
Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 38351091

Starko S, Fifer JE, Claar DC, Davies SW, Cunning R, Baker AC, Baum JK. Marine heatwaves threaten cryptic coral diversity and erode associations among coevolving partners. Sci Adv. 2023 Aug 11; 9(32):eadf0954. PMID: 37566650; PMCID: PMC10421036; DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf0954;

Carrión PJA, Desai N, Brennan JJ, Fifer JE, Siggers T, Davies SW, Gilmore TD. Starvation decreases immunity and immune regulatory factor NF-?B in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Commun Biol. 2023 Jul 07; 6(1):698.View Related Profiles.

Davies, Sarah
Gilmore, Thomas

PMID: 37420095; PMCID: PMC10329013; DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05084-7;

Lord KS, Lesneski KC, Buston PM, Davies SW, D'Aloia CC, Finnerty JR. Rampant asexual reproduction and limited dispersal in a mangrove population of the coral Porites divaricata. Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Jul 12; 290(2002):20231070. PMID: 37403501; PMCID: PMC10320353; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1070;

Rivera HE, Tramonte CA, Samaroo J, Dickerson H, Davies SW. Heat challenge elicits stronger physiological and gene expression responses than starvation in symbiotic Oculina arbuscula. J Hered. 2023 Jun 22; 114(4):312-325. PMID: 36921030

Davies SW, Gamache MH, Howe-Kerr LI, Kriefall NG, Baker AC, Banaszak AT, Bay LK, Bellantuono AJ, Bhattacharya D, Chan CX, Claar DC, Coffroth MA, Cunning R, Davy SK, Del Campo J, Díaz-Almeyda EM, Frommlet JC, Fuess LE, González-Pech RA, Goulet TL, Hoadley KD, Howells EJ, Hume BCC, Kemp DW, Kenkel CD, Kitchen SA, LaJeunesse TC, Lin S, McIlroy SE, McMinds R, Nitschke MR, Oakley CA, Peixoto RS, Prada C, Putnam HM, Quigley K, Reich HG, Reimer JD, Rodriguez-Lanetty M, Rosales SM, Saad OS, Sampayo EM, Santos SR, Shoguchi E, Smith EG, Stat M, Stephens TG, Strader ME, Suggett DJ, Swain TD, Tran C, Traylor-Knowles N, Voolstra CR, Warner ME, Weis VM, Wright RM, Xiang T, Yamashita H, Ziegler M, Correa AMS, Parkinson JE. Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity. PeerJ. 2023; 11:e15023. PMID: 37151292; PMCID: PMC10162043; DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15023;

Bove CB, Ingersoll MV, Davies SW. Help Me, Symbionts, You're My Only Hope: Approaches to Accelerate our Understanding of Coral Holobiont Interactions. Integr Comp Biol. 2022 Dec 30; 62(6):1756-1769. PMID: 36099871

Barfield S, Davies SW, Matz MV. Evidence of sweepstakes reproductive success in a broadcast-spawning coral and its implications for coral metapopulation persistence. Mol Ecol. 2023 Feb; 32(3):696-702. PMID: 36346182

Bove CB, Davies SW, Ries JB, Umbanhowar J, Thomasson BC, Farquhar EB, McCoppin JA, Castillo KD. Global change differentially modulates Caribbean coral physiology. PLoS One. 2022; 17(9):e0273897. PMID: 36054126

Doyle SM, Self MJ, Hayes J, Shamberger KEF, Correa AMS, Davies SW, Santiago-Vázquez LZ, Sylvan JB. Microbial Community Dynamics Provide Evidence for Hypoxia during a Coral Reef Mortality Event. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2022 May 10; 88(9):e0034722. PMID: 35435720

Fifer JE, Yasuda N, Yamakita T, Bove CB, Davies SW. Genetic divergence and range expansion in a western North Pacific coral. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Mar 20; 813:152423. PMID: 34942242

Rivera HE, Davies SW. Symbiosis maintenance in the facultative coral, Oculina arbuscula, relies on nitrogen cycling, cell cycle modulation, and immunity. Sci Rep. 2021 Oct 27; 11(1):21226. PMID: 34707162

Wuitchik DM, Almanzar A, Benson BE, Brennan S, Chavez JD, Liesegang MB, Reavis JL, Reyes CL, Schniedewind MK, Trumble IF, Davies SW. Characterizing environmental stress responses of aposymbiotic Astrangia poculata to divergent thermal challenges. Mol Ecol. 2021 Oct; 30(20):5064-5079. PMID: 34379848

Davies SW, Putnam HM, Ainsworth T, Baum JK, Bove CB, Crosby SC, Côté IM, Duplouy A, Fulweiler RW, Griffin AJ, Hanley TC, Hill T, Humanes A, Mangubhai S, Metaxas A, Parker LM, Rivera HE, Silbiger NJ, Smith NS, Spalding AK, Traylor-Knowles N, Weigel BL, Wright RM, Bates AE. Promoting inclusive metrics of success and impact to dismantle a discriminatory reward system in science. PLoS Biol. 2021 Jun; 19(6):e3001282. PMID: 34129646

Fulweiler RW, Davies SW, Biddle JF, Burgin AJ, Cooperdock EHG, Hanley TC, Kenkel CD, Marcarelli AM, Matassa CM, Mayo TL, Santiago-Vàzquez LZ, Traylor-Knowles N, Ziegler M. Rebuild the Academy: Supporting academic mothers during COVID-19 and beyond. PLoS Biol. 2021 Mar; 19(3):e3001100. PMID: 33690708

Rivera HE, Aichelman HE, Fifer JE, Kriefall NG, Wuitchik DM, Wuitchik SJS, Davies SW. A framework for understanding gene expression plasticity and its influence on stress tolerance. Mol Ecol. 2021 Mar; 30(6):1381-1397.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 33503298

Davies SW, Moreland KN, Wham DC, Kanke MR, Matz MV. Cladocopium community divergence in two Acropora coral hosts across multiple spatial scales. Mol Ecol. 2020 Dec; 29(23):4559-4572. PMID: 33002237

Speare L, Davies SW, Balmonte JP, Baumann J, Castillo KD. Patterns of environmental variability influence coral-associated bacterial and algal communities on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Mol Ecol. 2020 Jul; 29(13):2334-2348. PMID: 32497352

Baums IB, Baker AC, Davies SW, Grottoli AG, Kenkel CD, Kitchen SA, Kuffner IB, LaJeunesse TC, Matz MV, Miller MW, Parkinson JE, Shantz AA. Considerations for maximizing the adaptive potential of restored coral populations in the western Atlantic. Ecol Appl. 2019 Dec; 29(8):e01978. PMID: 31332879

Bove CB, Ries JB, Davies SW, Westfield IT, Umbanhowar J, Castillo KD. Common Caribbean corals exhibit highly variable responses to future acidification and warming. Proc Biol Sci. 2019 Apr 10; 286(1900):20182840. PMID: 30940056

Rippe JP, Baumann JH, De Leener DN, Aichelman HE, Friedlander EB, Davies SW, Castillo KD. Corals sustain growth but not skeletal density across the Florida Keys Reef Tract despite ongoing warming. Glob Chang Biol. 2018 Nov; 24(11):5205-5217.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 30102827

Rippe JP, Matz MV, Green EA, Medina M, Khawaja NZ, Pongwarin T, Pinzón C JH, Castillo KD, Davies SW. Population structure and connectivity of the mountainous star coral, Orbicella faveolata, throughout the wider Caribbean region. Ecol Evol. 2017 Nov; 7(22):9234-9246. PMID: 29187964

Pollock FJ, Katz SM, van de Water JAJM, Davies SW, Hein M, Torda G, Matz MV, Beltran VH, Buerger P, Puill-Stephan E, Abrego D, Bourne DG, Willis BL. Coral larvae for restoration and research: a large-scale method for rearing Acropora millepora larvae, inducing settlement, and establishing symbiosis. PeerJ. 2017; 5:e3732. PMID: 28894640

Baumann JH, Townsend JE, Courtney TA, Aichelman HE, Davies SW, Lima FP, Castillo KD. Temperature Regimes Impact Coral Assemblages along Environmental Gradients on Lagoonal Reefs in Belize. PLoS One. 2016; 11(9):e0162098.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 27606598

Aichelman HE, Townsend JE, Courtney TA, Baumann JH, Davies SW, Castillo KD. Heterotrophy mitigates the response of the temperate coral Oculina arbuscula to temperature stress. Ecol Evol. 2016 Sep; 6(18):6758-6769.View Related Profiles.

Aichelman, Hannah
Davies, Sarah

PMID: 27777745

Cros A, Toonen RJ, Davies SW, Karl SA. Population genetic structure between Yap and Palau for the coral Acropora hyacinthus. PeerJ. 2016; 4:e2330. PMID: 27602294

Dixon GB, Davies SW, Aglyamova GA, Meyer E, Bay LK, Matz MV. CORAL REEFS. Genomic determinants of coral heat tolerance across latitudes. Science. 2015 Jun 26; 348(6242):1460-2. PMID: 26113720

Quigley KM, Davies SW, Kenkel CD, Willis BL, Matz MV, Bay LK. Deep-sequencing method for quantifying background abundances of symbiodinium types: exploring the rare symbiodinium biosphere in reef-building corals. PLoS One. 2014; 9(4):e94297. PMID: 24728373

Davies SW, Matz MV, Vize PD. Ecological complexity of coral recruitment processes: effects of invertebrate herbivores on coral recruitment and growth depends upon substratum properties and coral species. PLoS One. 2013; 8(9):e72830. PMID: 24039807

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 41 publications over 13 distinct years, with a maximum of 7 publications in 2024