Presenter(s):
Anderson Mayfield, NOAA/University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science

Sponsor(s):
Coral Collaboration Webinar Series – NOAA Coral Reef Conservation ProgramSeminar Contact:
Robin Garcia, robin.garcia@noaa.gov

Remote Access: AdobeConnect information:
1. To join the meeting: http://noaacsc.adobeconnect.com/coralscollab/
2. Click the microphone at the top of the screen to connect audio.

Abstract: Corals reefs are threatened the world over by the rapidly rising temperatures associated with global climate change (GCC), as well as other insults of predominantly anthropogenic origin. In this presentation, I will first summarize work myself and my colleagues have been undertaking in recent years that address 1) charting and characterizing previously unstudied reefs (so that we know exactly what stands to be lost) and 2) the physiological implications of GCC on coral health. Then, I will discuss how I have been using the data from such field and laboratory studies, respectively, to develop artificial intelligence-driven models that enable us to identify resilient coral colonies (refugia). Although it may be too late to save many reefs, this novel capacity will allow us to enact coral reef triage, in which coral colonies and their respective habitats are scored along a physiological resilience spectrum (from highly stress susceptible to markedly resilient).