Project Grant 2205892

This National Science Foundation project grant of $298,357 supports research investigating coral demographic processes and their interaction with climate change and local stressors to influence coral recovery trajectories. Funded under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050), the award will support analysis of time series coral size-frequency data across four Pacific regions to assess demographic rates following bleaching events and evaluate their importance in driving recovery dynamics. Structural equation models will evaluate the impact of local stressors like fishing and nutrient pollution on demographic rates in Hawaiian reefs and their relationship to recovery trajectories. The models may also forecast how reducing local stressors may enhance coral recovery rates in Hawaii. The research will provide knowledge to inform management actions mitigating local stressors' impacts on reefs facing climate change. It also supports an early-career researcher and research training for underrepresented STEM students at Arizona State University, the recipient.