IN THIS MODULE YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT

  • Why coral reefs are highly mysterious and fascinating organisms? How do they build reef ecosystems and why those ecosystems are really important for us as humans?
  • What are the impacts of climate change on coral reefs and the existential threat that these ecosystems face as the result of warming temperatures?
  • How do we protect, restore and prepare coral reefs for another few decades of climate change?
  • What is the incredible significance of healthy coral reefs in protecting our coastlines from the damaging effects of storms and flooding?

INSTRUCTOR FOR THIS MODULE:

ANDREW BAKER, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY - ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL OF MARINE, ATMOSPHERIC AND EARTH SCIENCE, Email: A.BAKER1@UMIAMI.EDU, Phone: (305) 421-4642

Professor Andrew Baker is a marine biologist whose research focuses on coral reefs and climate change. He directs the Coral Reef Futures Lab at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, focusing on the development and testing of methods to increase coral reef resilience. He also leads a new Miami-based project (X-reefs) to develop next-generation hybrid reefs that combine the wave-protection benefits of artificial structures with the ecological benefits of coral reefs. The X-reefs project incorporates novel structural designs and materials, ecological engineering, and adaptive biology approaches to develop self-building and self-repairing reef structures that are resilient to climate and other disturbances. Dr. Baker is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a former Fulbright scholar, adjunct faculty member of Columbia University, Fellow of the Explorers Club, and Inventor-in-Residence at the Frost Museum of Science in Miami. He recently served on the National Academy of Sciences COMMITTEE ON INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE THE PERSISTENCE AND RESILIENCE OF CORAL REEFS. Prof. Baker has an undergraduate degree from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami.

LECTURE

DOWNLOAD HANDOUT

READING ASSIGNMENT

CRITICAL THINKING ASSIGNMENT

PROBLEM STATEMENT: “What are the challenges of restoring coral reefs as means of flood risk reduction in Southeast Florida?

Additional drilling down:

How might these challenges vary within the region (e.g., Miami-Dade and Broward Counties (Miami and Fort Lauderdale) versus Monroe County (Florida Keys) and how might they vary from other regions, e.g. the wider Caribbean region?

Further Explorations- 360 tour of Coral Reefs

Further Explorations- Coral Reefs- "Immerse"

Further Explorations- A 360-degree tour of the mysterious, magical corals of Palau