Assessing Biodiversity Loss from Hypoxia in Coral Reef Ecosystems
2023 Faculty Research Award
AWARD PERIOD: 2023-2025
Curtis Deutsch, professor of geosciences and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, leads this project to investigate and assess the risks and costs of hypoxia-driven biodiversity loss in tropical reef ecosystems. This work builds on research previously conducted collaboratively between Deutsch and Noelle Lucey, a marine biologist and currently a postdoctoral researcher at HMEI. Hypoxia, low O2, plays a critical role in shaping the diversity of reef ecosystems, but the threat from human amplification of hypoxia on reefs remains poorly understood. Deutsch and his research team combine research on biodiversity, climate change, and coastal development with actionable strategies for tropical communities most at risk from hypoxia-driven coral biodiversity loss.
Undergraduate students will participate in a two-week class at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Bocas Research Station (BRS) in Panama, where they will learn, through a combination of lectures, labs, and land- and sea-based field trips, about how research can lead to tangible solutions that can help to mitigate biodiversity loss in the tropics. Two undergraduates will also have the opportunity to work on related projects with summer HMEI internships.
Participating Departments
Faculty
Research Associates
