Middlebury Institute of International Studies presents a free lecture by Dr. Cheryl Logan entitled Galapagos Corals: Canaries in the Coal Mine on Tuesday, October 29, at 6pm in Room 102 in the McGowan Building on the campus of MIIS. Learn how the Galápagos islands may provide a critical ‘early warning’ case study for understanding the long-term effects of bleaching impacts and mechanisms of survival.

The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) represents a marginal habitat for coral reefs due to high temperature variability and low aragonite saturation state. The Galápagos islands represents a good case study for understanding the future of coral reefs, given its extended history of bleaching; the 1982-‘83 El Nino event killed 97% of corals. Yet some Galápagos corals have persevered and may be uniquely thermally resistant. Regions like these may provide a critical ‘early warning’ case study for understanding the long-term effects of bleaching impacts and mechanisms of survival.

Researchers surveyed coral thermal tolerance across the archipelago for the first time using a portable coral bleaching autonomous stress system, targeting locations where recovery has been strongest. Here, they present results on both heat and cold tolerance in two common coral types (Pocillopora sp. and Pavona sp.) found in across the Galápagos archipelago. Identification of thermally “tough” corals in this unique region will provide critical information to resource managers about which coral communities may be more resilient to future climate impacts.