Cryptic Coral

Dr Scott Burgess is an associate professor at the Department of Biological Science, at Florida State University. Dr Burgess discovered a new species of coral, and identified ‘cryptic species’ of coral, which are corals that look the same but are in fact genetically distinct species. Scott discovered that some cryptic species bleached and died during the 2019 heatwave at Moorea, while other species did not bleach and survived, and he is trying to understand why. More importantly, his results show which species are more resilient to climate change, and the possible genetic underpinnings of adaptation to climate change.