Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Extreme weather events-from heatwaves and wildfires to storms and droughts-are escalating under climate change with serious consequences for people and the planet. In the ocean, heatwaves pose an imminent threat to the world's coral reefs. Heat stress of even 1°C disrupts the partnership between corals and their microscopic algal symbionts, causing corals to bleach. Already three global coral bleaching events have caused massive coral losses; a significant new heatwave is now brewing in the Pacific Ocean. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ranks these biologically diverse marine ecosystems as the most vulnerable to climate change, with current projections that by 1.5C warming we could lose between 70-90% of all reefs. There is thus an urgent need to advance understanding of how these ecosystems are being altered by heatwaves, at what pace they can recover, and forms of resilience they have that could contribute to their long-term viability. My team studies coral reef resilience to heatwaves in one of the world's epicentres for these extreme events, the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. Over the next 5 years, we will advance knowledge of: 1) how some corals manage to survive successive heatwaves, including examining their capacity to adapt and acclimate to thermal stress; 2) reef recovery rates, and which factors are vital for enhancing recovery; and 3) how coral reef food webs are being changed by heatwaves. We will investigate these questions through intensive study of the coral reefs on the world's largest atoll, Kiritimati, where my team has worked for the past 15 years. There, we have been monitoring the coral reef ecosystem, including tracking the fate of 100s of 100s of tagged corals through successive heatwaves. Our research program is built on innovative integrated use of underwater dive surveys and collections, novel 3D imagery, cutting-edge molecular and stable isotope analyses, and bioinformatics and statistics. We will also train a large team of undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral research fellows in these methods, and we will continue our strong history of providing them with indispensable skills for successful careers in science, including critical-thinking, data analysis, science communication and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our research will advance understanding of climate change impacts and mechanisms of resilience, thus informing conservation and management of all marine ecosystems, including Canada's vulnerable kelp forests, which will become increasingly impacted by heatwaves in the coming decades. For example, our work will provide critical insight into the question of whether protecting the ocean from local stressors, like fishing and pollution, enhances its resilience to climate change. Overall, our discoveries will provide Canada with knowledge and intellectual capacity to help develop management solutions that can ensure our oceans are resilient for generations to come