Restoring Florida's Corals
Donation protected
Coral reef restoration in the Florida Keys
My name is Kate Gould, I was born and raised in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, a flat, dry, agricultural area speckled with urban sprawl, and the Rocky Mountains looming to the West. Enclosed within suburbia I was always searching for something different; something more cryptic than the prairies and more savage than the summits, the ocean.
My childhood passion for the ocean grew into an obsession and my captivation only amplified after visiting the Pacific on the California coast as an 8-year-old, and I knew then that this was where I was meant to be. Fast-forward 23 years later and 12 jobs and internships later (yes, I counted) and I am in my 3rd year as a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
I now work on coral reefs, trying to understand how we can better protect them from the pressures of climate change. My work focuses on coral health and finding species that can withstand the increasing warming of ocean waters.
My current work takes place in Florida and for the last 10 months, I have been monitoring the health of 64 corals I transplanted across 4 reefs in the Florida keys. My work aims to find the best place for transplanting this species and understand what makes these areas more suitable for their growth and success. For more pictures and a WONDERFUL blog post about all we have done so far, visit MLparker media's Blog post as well as a short video describing what I've been up to so far.
As corals are dying across the globe, we as a society are becoming vulnerable to the repercussions of coral reef decline as well. Corals support over 25% of ocean biodiversity and play a major role in supporting the fishing industry globally, they protect our coasts and infrastructure from the decimation caused by hurricanes, however as they dwindle these services are compromised and eventually will be lost entirely.
Understanding how corals respond to environmental stress and warming temperatures will help us protect these vulnerable populations, and the goods and services they provide us. This project not only helps find answers to these questions but I am actively restoring this species thanks to the Coral Restoration Foundation's earnest donation.
To save the corals we need all the help and support we can get. The logistics of restoring and studying corals alone is daunting, but with your help, we can get closer to the answers we need to understand how we can help this important ecosystem and maintain the resources they provide us.
Project description click HERE on my website
Your donations will go directly to the following items:
My name is Kate Gould, I was born and raised in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, a flat, dry, agricultural area speckled with urban sprawl, and the Rocky Mountains looming to the West. Enclosed within suburbia I was always searching for something different; something more cryptic than the prairies and more savage than the summits, the ocean.
My childhood passion for the ocean grew into an obsession and my captivation only amplified after visiting the Pacific on the California coast as an 8-year-old, and I knew then that this was where I was meant to be. Fast-forward 23 years later and 12 jobs and internships later (yes, I counted) and I am in my 3rd year as a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
I now work on coral reefs, trying to understand how we can better protect them from the pressures of climate change. My work focuses on coral health and finding species that can withstand the increasing warming of ocean waters.
My current work takes place in Florida and for the last 10 months, I have been monitoring the health of 64 corals I transplanted across 4 reefs in the Florida keys. My work aims to find the best place for transplanting this species and understand what makes these areas more suitable for their growth and success. For more pictures and a WONDERFUL blog post about all we have done so far, visit MLparker media's Blog post as well as a short video describing what I've been up to so far.
As corals are dying across the globe, we as a society are becoming vulnerable to the repercussions of coral reef decline as well. Corals support over 25% of ocean biodiversity and play a major role in supporting the fishing industry globally, they protect our coasts and infrastructure from the decimation caused by hurricanes, however as they dwindle these services are compromised and eventually will be lost entirely.
Understanding how corals respond to environmental stress and warming temperatures will help us protect these vulnerable populations, and the goods and services they provide us. This project not only helps find answers to these questions but I am actively restoring this species thanks to the Coral Restoration Foundation's earnest donation.
To save the corals we need all the help and support we can get. The logistics of restoring and studying corals alone is daunting, but with your help, we can get closer to the answers we need to understand how we can help this important ecosystem and maintain the resources they provide us.
Project description click HERE on my website
Your donations will go directly to the following items:
Organizer
Kate Gonaughts
Organizer
Carrboro, NC
