[Coral-List] Submit an abstract for ICRS 2020 session on paleo/ecology of coral reefs

[Anna M Weiss]

Dear Colleagues,

Amanda Godbold, David Bottjer and I are chairing a session at the
International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) 2020 in Bremen, “*When worlds
collide: What can be accomplished when ecology and paleoecology are
integrated?”. *An abstract for our session is pasted below. The theme of
ICRS 2020 is “*Tackling the Challenging Future of Coral Reefs*”, and we
know that there are many geologists, ecologists and paleontologists that
are using unique data from the past to understand the future of reefs.

We are currently soliciting abstracts for our session. In particular we
would like to encourage students, early career researchers and scientists
from marginalized groups to submit a talk. The call for abstracts opens on
July 1, 2019. Please feel free to contact me, Amanda or visit
http://www.icrs2020.de/ if you have any questions!



Cheers,

Anna


*When worlds collide: What can be accomplished when ecology and
paleoecology are integrated?*


Corals have been around for millions of years and have survived some of the
deadliest events in Earth's history, including the "Big Five" mass
extinctions. Their resiliency begs the question, how do these seemingly
delicate organisms persist? This session aims to unite paleoecology and
modern ecology for the purpose of understanding the extinction, survival,
and recovery of corals throughout time. Each discipline offers unique
insight into these important topics. The geologic record offers an
abundance of time allowing natural experiments in climate and environmental
change to be viewed in their entirety. Fossil reefs allow us to explore the
evolutionary history of reefs in response to environmental changes as well
as extinction selectivity of coral species. The modern has exceptional
resolution allowing for detailed analyses. Modern reefs enhance our
understanding of ecological phase shifts and the importance of connectivity
in the survival of these ecosystems. Combining insights from the past with
modern observations provides a powerful perspective that can be used to
tackle complex concepts such as the range shifts of corals due to climate
change and the development of refugia. The aim of this session is to bring
together scientists that are working on modern and ancient coral reefs. One
of the key scientific questions of ICRS 2020 is, what can we learn from the
past in order to understand future reefs and their functioning? Our session
targets this question and will hopefully draw the attention of researchers,
educators/teachers, policy makers, and students interested in the
application of geologic time.


--

Anna M. Weiss, Ph.D.
Climate Resilience Fellow, University of Belize Environmental Research
Institute
Research Associate, UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences
http://annamweiss.weebly.com/