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��������’s Dr. Vania Coelho, whose research focuses on coral reef ecology, was quoted in a New York Times Magazine article examining innovative interventions — including manmade clouds — to save coral reefs by shading vulnerable reefs as temperatures rise to help reduce coral bleaching. 

Dr. Coelho’s research focuses on management strategies that can help mitigate the effects of climate change on corals. Working with undergraduates in her lab at ��������, Dr. Coelho is identifying colonies or species that are more resistant to thermal stress for restoration purposes, as well as examining how shading could increase the resilience of corals in periods of cumulative heat stress. In addition, she is also interested in how to best engage the tourism industry in local coral reef protection.

Coral reefs are among the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems. They also are – due to global warming and other factors – among the most threatened. 

Coelho’s lab is currently examining how to increase resilience to thermal stress in shallow water coral communities through shading. Scientists have long known about the interaction between light and thermal stress. 

Dr. Coelho’s studies, both in the lab and in the field, have examined shading as a tool to help corals better cope with stress when higher water temperatures are observed over extended periods of time. She is particularly interested in community-based approaches to reef preservation, including the involvement of the local tourism industries. 

Coral reefs are extremely sensitive to temperature changes. If the average temperature gets too high – above 25-30 degrees Celsius, the corals become stressed and expel the symbiotic algae that live inside them. When these beneficial algae are “evicted” by corals, the corals become white – or “bleached.”

Corals absorb nutrition from the organic matter in the algae. When they expel the algae, they lose a lot of nutrition and weaken. In many cases, the corals will recover as the temperature drops again. But some will not recover, potentially threatening an entire coral colony. 

One study by the Coelho lab, published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, was based on two experiments in American Samoa.

“One was an aquarium experiment near reef-flat pools in the National Park of American Samoa on Ofu Island, using different levels of shading (none, 50% and 75%) early in conditions of cumulative thermal stress. The second was a field experiment in Tutuila. This shaded/not-shaded platform experiment was carried out in a reef pool in which corals have shown repeated annual summer bleaching for several years.”

Shading reduced the degree of bleaching in three species of corals: Acropora muricata, Pocillopora damicornis and Porites cylindrica in American Samoa.

The health of the corals has profound implications for other organisms in their ecosystem, Coelho says. If large sections of coral reefs are wiped out, then much of the marine life they support also may be wiped out. Also, the corals help protect coastlines, even during a hurricane. When damaged, they cannot withstand these storms. In addition, many millions of people depend on reefs to survive. Tourism supports many of the smaller islands surrounded by reefs, while the local fishing industry depends on the life in the reefs to feed the larger fish in the ocean.

“As bleaching becomes more frequent and regular due to global warming, we should consider proactively using shading to help mitigate the effects of thermal stress and prolong the survival of at least some coral communities until solutions to address global climate change become effective,” Coelho says.

The New York Times Magazine article examined the work of scientists at Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Center to investigate whether it is possible to reduce coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef by altering the weather through the use of machine-generated fog and artificially brightened clouds. 

Coelho told the magazine that while curbing fossil fuels should be the primary focus of the battle against climate change, supplemental interventions to save coral reefs are critical. 
“I think we should do everything in our power to help coral reefs,” she noted. “Not only for the sake of the planet’s biodiversity, but also for the human communities that depend on them. If we don’t help corals survive this transitional period, it will be too late.”

Dr. Coelho is a tenured professor in the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, School of Health and Natural Sciences. She has a master’s degree in ecology and a Ph.D. in zoology, both from University of São Paulo, Brazil. She completed most of her doctorate research while she was working as a visiting scientist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, D.C. 

After completing her doctorate, Dr. Coelho held a post-doctoral research scientist position initially, and later an associate research scientist position, at Columbia University. At ��������, Dr. Coelho teaches Biological Research Methodology, Ecology and Evolution, Environmental Sciences, International Field Biology, Invertebrate Biology and Marine Biology. 

Past funding for her research included grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Park Service.