Seaweed Mariculture as a Tool to Help Protect Coral Reefs

Corals support some of our most diverse ecosystems but now are severely threatened by global
warming. Rising temperatures disrupt the vital symbiosis between the coral and the algae living
within their cells, causing bleaching and, often, death. Can anything be done to save corals?

Dr. Loretta Roberson of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) will describe a tough little coral that calls Cape Cod home. She will explain how she and colleagues investigate this coral’s remarkable ability to withstand warm
summers and freezing winters, unlike their tropical cousins who are sensitive to temperature changes of a few degrees. She will also discuss how she has borrowed an idea from corals themselves: improve water quality using algae to remove nitrogen and carbon dioxide – to help reefs and other nearshore ecosystems recover.