Coral light use efficiencies of Bermuda coral species

As part of a competitive award for the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program I spent the summer at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science (BIOS) campus working in Dr. Eric Hochberg's Coral Reef Ecology and Optics Laboratory. During this fellowship I received a much deeper understanding of bio optics and its applications to coral physiology. I developed a project with Dr. Hochberg based on flume science and optics to better understand light use efficiencies of specific coral communities. As part of this project I designed a built a large flume to simulate ocean currents over reefs and house coral specimens, optical, and oceanogrpahic instrumentation. We measured coral productivity in controled environments and quantified these relationships to optical qualities of the coral specimens. Understanding how well the symbiotic algae associated with coral utilizes absorbed light to photosynthesize using optical techniques, allows for a non-invasive technique to understand coral physiology and health, and the potential to understand ecosystem functioning over large time and space scales. I was also heavily involved in the lab's other local projects including in-situ optical spectral measurements, underwater coral and fish surveys, optical package and CTD casts, photoquadrats and water quality collection and laboratory analysis. As well as a project requring HAZMAT diving located near the outflow of a sewage line, assessing the effects on local coral communities.