Science Diving

The first time I saw stony coral tissue loss disease, I knew it could mean the end of these beautiful coral reefs that I grew up with, unless we act now!”

The Twilight Zone was not just a hit TV series by Rod Serling. But the counterpart which shares its name, “Coral Reef Twilight Zone”, captivates audiences just as much.

I became aware of threats against the ocean as soon as I started scuba diving, whether it was seeing coral bleaching during a dive or discarded fishing nets covering coral reefs, my eyes were now open to what most will never see. The threats to our ocean are mostly hidden to humans and this is why it has been so devastating, and little has been done to stop it.

Coral reefs, the cities beneath the waves only cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface but are home to 25% of all known marine life. They provide us with food, protection, jobs and medicine, yet we destroy, damage and degrade these intricate ecosystems mercilessly. We have now decimated 50% of coral reefs worldwide. At this rate, they could all be destroyed come the end of the decade

The coral microbiome is still little understood. Nicole’s research aims to help us understand if we can utilize the coral microbiome to protect species from global and local stressors. Nicole also shares her advice for early career scientists and plans for the future.