Evolutionary rescue could play a role in the persistence of some coral populations, but this capacity may be insufficient if global warming unfettered. Essay just out in @science.org summarising my PhD work completed wt. great collaborators at Coralassist & Marine Spatial Ecology Labs + many more.

Balancing between evolutionary rescue and extinction: The adaptive potential of reef-building corals in a warming world

The adaptive potential of reef-building corals in a warming world

doi.org

Delighted to see our paper out in Science Magazine today. And congrats for the amazing picture James Guest! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

In Science Journals

Highlights from the Science family of journals

science.org

Can we selectively breed Acropora corals for heat tolerance? Two upcoming Coralassist Lab talks on adaptation & breeding @coralconsortium.bsky.social #ReefFutures Feasibility & lessons learned from Pacific context building on our 2 new papers: doi.org/10.1126/scie... rdcu.be/d2RhM

📢New Paper Alert📢 on corals and climate change in Science Adaptation via natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected levels of global warming Hyperlinks & explainer thread below ⬇️ (1/12)

Just finished a deep dive into detecting historic shifts in coral thermal tolerance with @annacresswell.bsky.social! Felt like we had a mountain to climb, but lots of great new ideas coming now. Thanks to support from @eseb.bsky.social AIMS James Gilmour, James Guest & many more!

Thanks to Amanda Bates for her thoughts on how the recent paper from my PhD at the Coralassist Lab (on the variability of coral heat tolerance among reefs) contributes to thermal biology and conservation more broadly. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

📢New Paper Alert📢 Selective breeding enhances tolerance of corals to marine heatwaves Take-home messages: - Breeding corals for heat tolerance is feasible - R&D is now needed to optimise outcomes - Not a silver bullet solution - We still need rapid climate action bit.ly/4h0Tc0P (1/9)

Nice press release on our recent paper on demographic recovery of corals after catastrophic disturbance over a decade ago in Palau. Result of a fruitful collaboration between PICRC and the Coralassist Lab! picrc.org/new-picrc-st...

Trait-based analyses say that fish communities in high-latitude coral communities have more generalists than their tropical counterparts that are more specialized onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🎉PhDone🥳 🕺Just passed my Valentines Day PhD viva!🎊 📖 with a thesis that ... 🔥explores the heat tolerance of tropical reef corals - across spatial scales & levels of biological organisation... 🧬models natural selection & future adaptive trajectories #phdlife

📣 New paper 📣 in Springer's Coral Reefs 📣 with amazing co-lead Piera Biondi of PICRC Palau. 🌊🌀 Demographic recovery of some coral taxa after catastrophic typhoons 💡 Recruitment limitation 💡 Rapid colonisation by Pocillopora 💡 Demographic monitoring offers early indicators of recovery (1/8)

Small Sciencebreaker piece just out on my paper from last year: showing an emergent increase in the thermal tolerance of the coral community in Palau. What are the specific drivers of these trends, and how widespread they are will be the next puzzles. www.thesciencebreaker.org/breaks/earth...

Likely increase in coral thermal tolerance at a Pacific archipelago

Over the coming decades, reef-building corals will face ever hotter ocean temperatures, yet it remains unknown if their thermal tolerance can keep up with the pace of warming. A new study reveals that...

thesciencebreaker.org

Thanks to the Reef Resilience Network for picking up some recent research from the Coralassist Lab showing no apparent trade-offs between heat tolerance & growth/fecundity for a common reef-building coral. Results summary & management imnplications here: reefresilience.org/article-summ...

Aaaaaand, the PhD has been submitted! Thanks so much to the amazing team I've been lucky enough to have around me the last years! Time for a holiday I think...

Just out, a 66 million year history of atmospheric CO2. Key take away: CO2 hasn't been at today's levels for at least 3 million years. These high CO2 worlds in the geological past had less ice and *much* higher sea levels 📈🌊 ⚒️🧪 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Delighted to be invited to share the work of my PhD and the work of the wonderful coral assist lab in Bremen today!

Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs (SPP 2299)@climatereefs.bsky.social · 3y ago

Our first keynote speaker was @liamlachs.bsky.social talking about heat tolerance in corals. He is going into historic shifts, unexpected patterns in corals and assisted evolution of reefs.

Coming out very soon! A deep dive podcast on the research of the Coral Assist lab. James Guest and I explore the challenges that reefs face in the coming decades due to increasingly damaging marine heatwaves, and think about what we can do, what we know, and what we don't.

From Newcastle - A Podcast From Newcastle University

From Newcastle, is a fortnightly podcast featuring the latest developments in health, science and culture and the creative arts from Newcastle University.

podcasts.ncl.ac.uk

A time of reflection on the extreme marine heatwaves that we have had in the northern hemisphere this summer. The time to tackle this challenge is now.

Marine heatwaves: climate change and El Niño driving increased frequency, intensity and duration

impact.economist.com

🌡️How fast can coral reefs adjust to ocean warming? PhD research over the last 2 years with @simondonner.bsky.social & many others has helped uncover a likely increase in the thermal tolerance of coral communities in Palau since the late 1980s. Read it here: (1/3)

Emergent increase in coral thermal tolerance reduces mass bleaching under climate change - Nature Co...

Marine heatwaves and mass bleaching mortality events threaten the persistence of coral communities on tropical reefs. This study demonstrates that the thermal tolerance of coral communities in Palau h...

nature.com

Fantastic new paper out from Daisy Buzzoni on algal symbionts and their dynamics following coral bleaching! Loving her infographics! tinyurl.com/3b3h6kpd