Coral Reef Ecosystems

Coral Reef Ecosystems

Informing and Enhancing Coral Restoration

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What We Do

Our research aims to identify corals that are more resilient in the presence of stressors like warming oceans, ocean acidification, and spread of novel diseases. Informing coral selection by managers and enhancing tools available to maximize coral resilience allows resource managers to be more effective with their restoration plans, especially when out-planting corals to the reef.

Who We Are

| Ian Enochs, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

| Nicole Besemer

Lab Manager

| Michael Studivan, Ph.D.

Assistant Scientist

| Ana Palacio, Ph.D.

Assistant Scientist

| Michael Jankulak

Data Manager

| Heidi Hirsh, Ph.D.

Assistant Scientist

| Albert Boyd

Coral Carbonate Chemist

| Richard Karp,  Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

| John Morris, Ph.D. 

Postdoctoral Associate

| Alice Webb, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

| Emma Pontes,  Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

| Bradley Weiler, Ph.D. 

Postdoctoral Associate

| Ashley Rossin, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

| Nash Soderberg

Research Associate

| Patrick Kiel

Doctoral Candidate

| Taylor Gill

Mission: Iconic Reefs Environmental Monitoring Coordinator

| Bailey Ross, MPS

Research Support Technician

| Kenzie Cooke

PhD Candidate

| Ben Chomitz

Digital Morphology Technician

Areas of Research

Research Capabilities

Top News

A new model predicts dynamic seawater chemistry on Florida’s coral reefs 

Water masses move over reefs, seagrass beds, and sandbanks – and as they do, the seawater chemistry changes.  In the Florida Keys, changes in coral reef carbonate chemistry are driven by benthic metabolism, the origin of the water mass, and the connectivity of habitats. A new study from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) […]

A new model predicts dynamic seawater chemistry on Florida’s coral reefs 

Read More News

Ana Palacio and Stephanie analyze coral fragments in a white tank with seawater in the Experimental Reef Lab with blue tee shirts and with blue lights on the coral fragments
MISSION ICONIC REEFS SOFAR BUOY
An orange coral polyp zoomed in to see the edges as its attached to the microplate
Image of tanks in the experimental reef lab. Photo Credit: NOAA. Environmental Reef Lab Tanks. Photo Credit: NOAA. Two white robotic arms hang over a series of tanks under the blue light with a black circle at the end where the pipettes attach

Research Impacts & Key Findings

Understanding Coral Reef Ecosystems

The long-term and comprehensive study of coral reef ecosystems improves understanding of how coral reefs respond to changes in the environment over time and predict how they will fare when exposed to increasing sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification, fishing, disease and pollution from land. AOML’s Coral Program has collected years of data and leads the in-situ climate change and ocean acidification monitoring for the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of America.

Creating Partnerships

AOML’s Coral Program is an integrated and focused monitoring effort developing and maintaining strong partnerships with federal, state/territory, academic and other partners across the U.S. The program collaborates with partners such as NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Coral Reef Watch, NOAA National Centers for Ocean and Coastal Science, the University of Virgin Islands, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Moorings International, and and the National Park Service.

Critical High Impact Data

AOML’s Coral Program provides consistent, sustained, and long‐term measurements of key indicators that gauge the status and trends of coral reef health providing a greater understanding of how a changing climate is impacting the nation’s coral reef ecosystems.

Featured Publication

A new model predicts dynamic seawater chemistry on Florida’s coral reefs 

Water masses move over reefs, seagrass beds, and sandbanks – and as they do, the seawater chemistry changes.  In the Florida Keys, changes in coral reef carbonate chemistry are driven by benthic metabolism, the origin of the water mass, and the connectivity of habitats. A new study from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) […]

florida-keys-sanctuary-(4)_REVISED

Outreach Partnerships

Coral City Camera

In collaboration with Coral Morphologic, a coral-themed art studio based in Miami, we have assisted in the deployment of the Coral City Camera (CCC), an underwater camera streaming live from an urban coral reef in Miami, Florida. The CCC is a public art and scientific research project led primarily by Coral Morphologic, and produced with Bridge Initiative and Bas Fisher Invitational.

Funding Sources and Partners

CIMAS' logo A fish and wave in front of a cloud
University of Miami 's Rescue a Reef logo