Columbus Science Pub Presents: Can We Save Coral Reefs? with Dr. Andréa G Grottoli

Coral reefs are being decimated by climate change and local stressors. Mitigating these stressors and restoring reefs are part of a large tapestry of interventions needed to save coral reefs. In this talk, Dr. Andréa G Grottoli will summarize the state of coral reefs, present a brief synthesis of my work on coral resilience, and share early findings from my patented technology to enhance coral feeding as an intervention to increase coral restoration success. While technology can provide short-term solutions to help targeted corals survive the next couple of decades, maintaining functional coral reefs this century requires the simultaneous mitigation of global and local stressors such as rising global temperatures and pollution.

Dr. Grottoli has been studying coral reefs for 30 years. She and her team have recently been focused on determining what drives resilience in corals in the face of climate change and developing blue technology for enhancing coral survivorship and restoration success.  She has published in journals such as Nature, Global Change Biology, and Nature Communications and has been featured on tv, radio, and print media. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the International Coral Reef Society, and a Fulbright Scholar. She is currently an Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University.