CURRENT RESEARCH AND PROJECTS:
-KIRITIMATI (CHRISTMAS ISLAND) CORAL REEF RESILIENCE
One part of my research utilizes coral recruitment tiles and videos to analyze coral recruitment throughout and after the 2015-2016 El Niño that caused 90% coral mortality. In November 2016, we deployed coral recruitment tiles and the past few summers we have re-collected the tiles and sampled the coral recruits off of them. I have sequenced the DNA of these recruits to identify them. Over the past three years there has been a total of 127 recruits indicating that coral recruitment rates have been relatively low since the El Niño. In addition the recruits have mainly been from the family Agariciidae, a largely stress-tolerant family. In addition to collecting coral recruits, I used videos that documented small corals on the reef. These were collected on Kiritimati beginning in 2013, and continued through the El Niño through to 2018. From these videos, changes in small coral density was documented showing the severe impact of the El Niño. Density of small corals decreased by 50% due to the El Niño but there has been an indication of recovery as the density has shown signs of increasing after the El Niño. In addition to the heat stress, human disturbance had a severe negative impact on the density of coral recruits. This was testable using the unparalleled human disturbance gradient present on Kiritimati due to the majority of the population living on one part of the island. I am working hard to get my thesis work published as this work will add to the polarized scientific knowledge of coral reef resilience and further the understanding of the mechanisms and capabilities of coral reefs, particularly their recovery, in this time of global change. This in turn will assist and improve conservation management decisions.
-KIRITIMATI (CHRISTMAS ISLAND) CORAL REEF RESILIENCE
One part of my research utilizes coral recruitment tiles and videos to analyze coral recruitment throughout and after the 2015-2016 El Niño that caused 90% coral mortality. In November 2016, we deployed coral recruitment tiles and the past few summers we have re-collected the tiles and sampled the coral recruits off of them. I have sequenced the DNA of these recruits to identify them. Over the past three years there has been a total of 127 recruits indicating that coral recruitment rates have been relatively low since the El Niño. In addition the recruits have mainly been from the family Agariciidae, a largely stress-tolerant family. In addition to collecting coral recruits, I used videos that documented small corals on the reef. These were collected on Kiritimati beginning in 2013, and continued through the El Niño through to 2018. From these videos, changes in small coral density was documented showing the severe impact of the El Niño. Density of small corals decreased by 50% due to the El Niño but there has been an indication of recovery as the density has shown signs of increasing after the El Niño. In addition to the heat stress, human disturbance had a severe negative impact on the density of coral recruits. This was testable using the unparalleled human disturbance gradient present on Kiritimati due to the majority of the population living on one part of the island. I am working hard to get my thesis work published as this work will add to the polarized scientific knowledge of coral reef resilience and further the understanding of the mechanisms and capabilities of coral reefs, particularly their recovery, in this time of global change. This in turn will assist and improve conservation management decisions.
In addition to the recovery of the reef, I am a part of the research that focuses on the resilience of corals during major thermal stress events. We are analyzing the symbiotic relationship between algae cells called Symbiodiniaceae and the coral and how it changed during the 2015-16 El Niño. This project started in 2014 to collect ‘before’ data followed by three trips in 2015 and then a trip in March 2016 as an almost at the end data set (the El Niño officially ended in April for Kiritimati). The El Niño impacted the reefs on Kiritimati heavily as 90% of the coral died. Since the El Niño we have been back four times to document the continued impacts (i.e. collapse of structure) and reef recovery.
PAST RESEARCH:
-WHALE SHARK AND OCEANIC RESEARCH CENTER
While working as a volunteer for WSORC in the fall of 2015 I assisted with preparations for a coral nursery, lionfish research and removal, and whale shark research.
-WHALE SHARK AND OCEANIC RESEARCH CENTER
While working as a volunteer for WSORC in the fall of 2015 I assisted with preparations for a coral nursery, lionfish research and removal, and whale shark research.
- Contact -
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Mail: Department of Biology University of Victoria PO Box 1700 STN CSC Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada I acknowledge with respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory I live on and on which the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day. Vertical Divider
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- Social/Links -
GitHub
Google Scholar Research Gate Baum Lab website Baum Lab @ Kiritimati website Blue Carbon Canada website Vertical Divider
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