Helping coral reefs adapt to a warming ocean

A large part of Palumbi’s work focuses on community engagement. While in Palau, he met with Sharp Sakuma, the governor of the Palauan state of Ngaraard, who is hoping to use Palumbi’s findings in a local reef restoration project. Researchers from the team also appeared on local radio and television broadcasts to discuss their work with staff members from the Palau International Coral Reef Center.

Palumbi’s lab also studies coral heat resistance in Belize and the Marshall Islands, and plans to do so in Maui and Indonesia. Together with local collaborators, Palumbi and his lab group aim to identify heat-resistant corals and build more resilient reefs. This work is also supported by follow-up funding from Stanford alumnus Dan Chung.

“The big idea is that evolution has crafted a solution to help corals in the future,” said Palumbi. “It’s done, it’s built, it’s sitting there, and we need to learn how to use it.”

Palumbi is the Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor of Marine Sciences, a professor of biology at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.