Dr. Rebecca Albright
California Academy of Sciences, Invertebrate Zoology
Research Profile
Coral Reefs in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Reasons for Hope
Tuesday, October 1
12 PM
AHF 153 (Torrey Webb Room)
Abstract: Already under severe pressure from a number of stressors, including overfishing and pollution, coral reefs are also among the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change and ocean acidification: We have lost an estimated 50% of the world's coral reefs over the last several decades and are projected to lose more than 90% by 2050. While acute disturbances such as temperature-induced coral bleaching are largely responsible for accelerated reef decline in recent years, chronic disturbances like ocean acidification erode a reef’s capacity to recover by slowing growth and reproduction. In this talk, I will give an overview to the challenges that reefs are currently facing, focusing on the impacts of changing seawater chemistry on various aspects of coral reef biology, ecology, and biogeochemistry. We will also explore some of the novel and exciting ideas that are emerging to address the coral reef crisis. We'll highlight strengths and limitations of current approaches and discuss next steps towards saving these valuable ecosystems.
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