Coral Reef Research

Our lab investigates the causes of coral reef declines using cellular diagnostics and traditional ecological assessment tools, such as Atlantic & Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocols. Click here for a nontechnical article about our research and causes of coral reef declines in the Florida Keys. Our current project is identifying the effects of land-based sources of pollution on coral reefs off the Southeastern Florida coast. This project is a collaboration with Broward County Department of Environmental Protection, the College of Charleston, Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, and the National Coral Research Institute.

Mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides)after a 1.5 cm diameter sample was removed for cellular-diagnostic analysis. Healthy corals regenerate in a few months but corals stressed by unusually high sea-surface temperatures or anthropogenic contaminants cannot do so. Note the natural lesions (bite marks from grazing fishes) on the opposite side of this colony.