Check out what we have been up to on our latest expedition!

NPR@npr.org · 9mo ago

Researchers retrieved reef monitoring devices that had been placed in deep coral reefs in Guam. The devices were placed up to 330 feet below the surface. n.pr/4qrFubn

Stoked to share the publication of another of my PhD chapters! This time we investigated the temporal dynamics of gall crab populations, representing the first data set of its kind for any coral-associated invert. (1) 🦀 🧪🪸 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Temporal Dynamics and Disturbance Responses in Coral‐Dwelling Decapods Provide a Novel Perspective on Their Ecological Role in Coral Reef Systems

Our study investigates the temporal dynamics and disturbance responses of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae), an overlooked yet ecologically significant group of obligate coral symbionts. By ....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Read the story behind our new study published yesterday in Nature, unfiltered straight from the scientists: 🌊 theconversation.com/unprecedente...

Unprecedented heat in the North Atlantic Ocean kickstarted Europe’s hellish 2023 summer. Now we know what caused it

Parts of the Atlantic Ocean are again much warmer than normal, priming Europe for more extreme heat this summer.

theconversation.com

Super excited that my PhD research made it on the national news of my chosen home for the past four years! @royalsocietypublishing.org 🦀🧪🪸🌍 arab.news/bvtne

Saudi Arabia’s KAUST study finds gall crabs use fluorescence to blend into coral homes

JEDDAH: Marine researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have discovered that gall crabs use highly evolved fluorescence to help conceal themselves within coral hideouts....

arab.news

What would a PhD be without a side quest? 🦀🪸 Super excited our study is out in Frontiers in Marine Science! We tested if gall crabs affect coral algal symbionts using Imaging PAM fluorometry. Turns out—these tiny tenants don’t stress out the algae. 🔗 doi.org/10.3389/fmar... (1)

Proud PhD Moment 🦀 My third PhD chapter is finally released to the world, and the cherry on the cake: My photo made the cover of the current #ProcB issue @royalsocietypublishing.org 🪸 check it out here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #CoralReefs #Biodiversity #Fluorescence #Symbiosis #Decapods

Dissertation writing break well spent although Red Sea February water temps are 🥶 #coralsky

I started surveying the shallow reef flats in front of KAUST for my PhD in 2020. I was impressed that corals could live in such extreme conditions - the water hits 38ºC in the summer! However, heatwaves in '23 and '24 were too much even for these corals. Today's survey had nearly 100% mortality 😞 🌊🦑

Shoving the #crustmas cookies in my mouth like this porcelain crab

I wrote about a delightful study about the secret dynamics of a coral, some seahorses, and oodles of tiny worms defector.com/a-small-and-...

A Small And Beautiful Seahorse Reveals An Even Smaller And Reclusive Worm | Defector

Years ago, as a student at the University of the Ryukyus in in Okinawa, Japan, Ai Takahata was researching the color patterns of a seahorse about the size of a shelled peanut. The pygmy seahorse Hippo...

defector.com

Thank you #ECRS2024, had a great week with fellow coral enthusiasts in Napoli! Presented one of my PhD chapters and got awarded for best oral communication. Congrats also to all my KAUST collegues for their achievements! 🦀💙🧪

Just published: 🦀 Quick Guide to Coral Crabs! w @OsenbergLab in @CurrentBiology Take a crabtastic voyage into the fascinating world of Trapezia. Learn about their unique biology, habitat, and vital role in coral ecosystems. #MarineBiology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Happy New Year to all of you! Celebrating with this festive looking nudibranch #MarineLife. Hope you are all excited for a new year filled with invert content (and maybe some fish) 🦑🪼🦀

Waited a while to share the (literally) most exciting part of my PhD project… Behold the fantastic fluorescence of coral-dwelling gall crabs! Very Christmas-themed if you ask me 🎄Currently busy investigating the evolution and origin of this phenomenon in cryptochirids 🦀🧪✨🦑

Sharing this cute little Christmas ornament for some holiday vibes in your feed 🎄🐠 #MarineLife

I'm back from the really good Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, and will now restart everyone's timeline cleanse with beautiful fish. Starting with one of my all-time favorites, a baby Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator). The species is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific.

🦋fish of todays fun dive. Have a great weekend everybody! 🦑🐠

Don‘t they look like little galaxies? Loved this colourful aggregation of tiny sap-sucking slugs (not nudibranchs) 🐌 #MarineLife

Time for another symbiotic decapod living on a bigger invertebrate 🦐 Enjoy this bumble bee shrimp sitting on its sea cucumber host 🦀💙🦑

Thrilled to see my pet animals on a screen this big! Had a great time talking about my research at ICMERS-3 this morning 🦀🧪🦑

ICMERS just started here at KAUST! Tomorrow, I‘ll be giving a talk about parts of my PhD work revealing that the gall crab communities in the Red Sea are much more dynamic than we expected. 🦀🧪🦑

A new shrimp species just dropped right from our backyard here in the Red Sea 🧪🦐🦑 Great work by Arthur Anker and Aymere Assayie. Don't miss the etymology section with some special tribute to this critter's Arabic roots! mapress.com/zt/article/v...

A further new species of Palaemonella Dana, 1852 from the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula (Mal...

mapress.com

Fish in pyjama! #MarineLife 🦑💙

Taking a short (mental) break of gall crabs after an intense field session. Hope you are enjoying these shrimps hanging out on their whip coral home as much as I do #MarineLife🦐🦀🦑

Busy in the field with my favourite little critters at the moment. Just finished post-bleaching monitoring of my permanent transects to study the temporal variability of gall crab communities and how they are affected by stressors like marine heatwaves. Stay tuned for more field updates 🦀🧪🦑💙

Throwback to diving pretty, turbid reefs with big tables in the Kisite Mpunguti Marine National Park in south Kenya. Stayed there while researching if coral guardian crabs (Trapezia) can deter the corallivorous Crown of Thorns Starfish for my Master thesis🧪🦑

Now that's a great find for #invertober 🦀🪱🧪 Goto and colleagues had a closer look at echiuran worm cavities and found inverts of three different phyla, including new amphipod and bivalve species! Symbiosis never fails to impress. academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

Living together in dead coral rocks: macrosymbiotic communities associated with Bonellia echiuran wo...

Abstract. Dead coral rocks are prevalent hard substrates in shallow warm waters, providing habitat for various infaunal and boring invertebrates. Despite this,

academic.oup.com

#MacroMonday! This little frog fish hardly has the size of your pinky tip 🐸 #MarineLife 🌊🐠

Check out this new article about the evolution of symbiosis in Thoracotremata! Nice work by Sancia van der Meij's group at the University of Groningen featuring my beloved coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) 🧪🦀 peerj.com/articles/162...

Sunset runs in Saudi… hot but rewarding! 🔥 Where are your favourite running tracks? 🏃🏼‍♀️