AOGS Schools Talk - Dr Kyle Morgan, 29 July 2019, 3-4 pm, Seminar Room, SST

Kyle MORGAN
Nanyang Technological University

Kyle Morgan is a marine scientist with research expertise in tropical coastal geomorphology, coral ecology, and coral reef evolution. Kyle is currently a Research Fellow in the Asian School of Environment at Nanyang Technological University. He is interested in understanding the processes that influence coral reef growth and landform development under past and future environmental change. His current research examines nearshore coral reefs that are threatened by human populations. Kyle has conducted extensive field research throughout the central Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

"Changing Ocean Conditions and the Future of Coral Reefs"

Kyle MORGAN
Nanyang Technological University

Global oceans are rapidly changing. Sea temperatures are warming, oceans are acidifying and coastal reef systems are becoming increasingly impacted by human populations and rapid urbanization. These compounding stressors have led to the widespread degradation of shallow-water coral habitat. This is of major concern because marine ecosystems, like coral reefs, provide important provisions to nearby coastal communities (e.g. food security, tourism, cultural identity, and coastal protection). However, assessing declines in ocean condition and coral reef health is difficult because there are very few long-term datasets to compare with present-day reef systems. In an era of unprecedented environmental and ecological change, can coral reefs maintain their biodiversity and geological functioning into the future?