Red Sea Coral Research
I have always been fascinated by ocean, so for the summer of 2025, I joined the GCEco Lab at the Red Sea Research Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to deepen my understanding of reef ecology in a changing climate. I hope to use what I learned in Saudi Arabia to support future community-based projects focused on reef resilience, food security, and coastal livelihoods around the world.
The Red Sea, with its naturally high temperatures and expansive reefs, offers a unique window into coral survival under extreme conditions. It’s one of the only places where reefs are naturally adapted to higher temperatures, and for now, still hanging on. With luck, they may teach us how to help others do the same. Even after a mass die-off, there are a few survivors; they contain clues that may help address this ecological crisis.
I worked on a small team of researchers from all over the world, supporting a few different projects.
My main project was on enhancing coral larvae settlement on concrete structures through modifications to concrete formulations. Adding a bit of iron or changing texture/color of the mix might yield large improvements for artificial reef construction, or shoreline improvement projects.
Here, Ari is blasting the tissue off of a healthy coral fragment. The resulting "juice" will be added to the tank to inoculate the developing corals with the zooxanthellae needed to begin photosynthesizing. They normally get these from the wild, but they can be challenging to find when in a fish tank.
I also helped research what algae-associated bacteria strains might help encourage larvae settlement. This involved soaking chunks of dead coral in bacterial cultures, introducing Acropora larvae, and then counting measuring settlement.
While this work was very important, it required hundreds of hours in front of stereo microscopes, counting larvae and polyps.
I also did a considerable amount of fieldwork. At this off-shore field site, "Rose Reef", we were testing in-vivo recruitment of crustose coralline algae (CCA) on different formulations of concrete.
Near "The Monument" field site, we took photo transects to monitor changes in benthic conditions, while also collecting samples of healthy CCA colonies for taxonomic identification and genetic study.
At "The Wreck" field site, we deployed cages to keep sea cucumbers hostage for long enough to measure the effects of their excrement on nearby organisms and sensors.
I also went on some expeditions with the Michael D. Fox Lab, deploying deep-water sensors to understand what happens in the water column during heat events.
When I wasn't working, I was on scuba expeditions, exploring the nearby Saudi cities, or fishing with Simon. It was a pleasant summer.
