Visiting Scholar Talks About Coral Reef Future on Sept. 23

Elmira, NY (09/22/2021) — Often referred to as the rainforests of the sea, about 25 percent of marine wildlife depend on healthy coral reefs. But what happens when this habitat is destroyed? How to counter the effects of coral diseases and global reef decline is the subject of Dr. Forest Rohwer's lecture at 4:30 p.m., Sept. 23 in the Kolker Lecture Hall on the Elmira College Campus.

Entitled, Creating a Future for Coral Reefs (& Hopefully Everyone Else), this presentation is open to the public.

Rohwer is the Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar. He will address the stressors, such as overfishing, nutrient additions and climate change, that are leading to viral and microbial community buildups which negatively affect the coral reefs. He will discuss projects underway, such as the Coral Reef Arks project and FLoCS, a project for carbon dioxide drawdown.

About Dr. Forest Rohwer

Forest Rohwer, professor of Biology at San Diego State University is a Fellow of the American Academy for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). He led the development of viromics, which involves isolating and sequencing the RNA/DNA from all of the viruses in a sample. Rohwer uses viromics to study ecosystems ranging from the human body to coral reefs and has shown that most genomic diversity on the planet is viral. Rohwer has won numerous national and international awards and has published two books: Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas and Life in Our Phage World.

NOTE: If you plan to attend the lecture, please remember to wear a mask indoors while on the campus, regardless of vaccination status, and to maintain as much distance as possible.

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Forest Rohwer, professor of Biology at San Diego State University will deliver a lecture about Coral Reef erosion and projects to save them at 4:30 p.m., Sept. 23 in the Kolker Lecture Hall on the Elmira College Campus.