Ecophysiology of hermatypic corals

Ecophysiology of hermatypic corals

Hermatypic scleractinians are key organisms as coral reef builders; Coral reefs form one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on our planet. Hermatypic corals live in symbiosis with a dinoflagellate (Symbiodinium sp) present inside the cells of their oral gastrodermis and provide a large part of the energy required by the coral through photosynthesis, which greatly enhances their potential to precipitate calcium carbonate in their skeleton.

We are particularly interested by the growth of coral colonies and their skelettogenesis according to the fluctuation of environmental parameters. We study, of course, this growth in relationship with global climatic changes (temperature increase, ocean acidification) and eutrophication. But we also study this growth in a broader framework aiming to understand the major ecological properties of a coral holobiont.

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Guyliann Engels
Research and teaching assistant

My research interests include plankton ecology, coral ecophysiology and biological data science.

Talks

Abstract Coral reefs are considered one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet. Coral reefs host a large and various …