Coral Research
Our research on corals connects with our interest in environmental physiology and how organisms respond to interacting, potentially synergistic, stressors. Currently, the main project focuses on the effects of ocean acidification and thermal stress on coral larvae. This project is being conducted in French Polynesia at the Moorea Coral Reef LTER. Emily Rivest, a graduate student in the Hofmann lab, is leading this research effort.
In January and February 2010, we will be studying larval sea urchins and coral using a traveling CO2 system developed in our lab group (manuscript coming soon!). The goal of our project is to characterize the response of the larvae to low pH conditions and measure gene expression of a number of genes involved in calcification and other metabolic pathways. Check out our blog at this link.
Notably, our research is done in collaboration with a team of investigators that are all interested in the biology and physiology of corals in the context of interacting climate change-related stressors and ocean acidifcation. Check our their work in a upcoming section of this page.
The lab is also hosting an NSF International Programs Research Fellow, Dr. Anderson Mayfield.
