Temperature stress is the single largest threat to coral reefs globally and is the focal topic of the newly established Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network (CBRCN). The goal of the CBRCN is to work with the broader coral research community to develop protocol recommendations over the course of three workshops, and to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborative team formation. Developing a framework of best practices is key to moving the science of coral bleaching research forward faster and more efficiently, and facilitating large-scale data assimilation and meta-analysis. This is imperative given the ongoing coral bleaching crisis.

On 22-24 May, the first workshop was held in the School of Earth Sciences. Twenty-seven investigators from the USA, Germany, and Australia assembled to develop best practice recommendations for 1) coral bleaching experimental designs so that results can be more easily compared among studies, and 2) baseline variable(s) that all studies should strive to include to facilitate cross study comparisons. The workshop was a success. The group achieved all goals and the outlines of two manuscripts were developed during the workshop. With writing tasks assigned, the goal is to submit both manuscripts for publication by the end of the summer. A webinar outlining the findings of the workshop will be presented later this summer as well.

The Director of the CBRCN is SES Professor Andrea Grottoli. For additional information, you can visit the CBRCN website at http://u.osu.edu/grottoli.1/coral-bleaching-rcn/ or email Prof Grottoli directly at grottoli.1@osu.edu.