Andrew Baker is a marine biologist interested in the biology, ecology and conservation of coral reefs, with a focus on the impacts of climate change on these ecosystems. Much of his research studies corals from the perspective of their algal symbionts (zooxanthellae in the genus Symbiodinium). Many corals have the ability to host different types of algal symbionts, and this flexibility helps them adapt to environmental variability. Baker’s lab has been assessing how important and widespread this ability is, and how it affects the response of corals (and the ecosystems they build) to climate change. Much of this work involves the study of molecular systematics and ecology (since these symbionts are most readily identified from their DNA), but this work also has a strong experimental focus in Miami, using corals growing in indoor and outdoor facilities, as well as fieldwork on coral reefs worldwide. Baker’s lab is currently developing and testing ways of manipulating corals to make them more resistant to heat-induced episodes of coral “bleaching”. These methods are now being field-trialed in South Florida as a way to increase the long-term success of reef restoration efforts. He has also begun projects to assess the benefits and risks of assisted migration and selective breeding of corals to improve their climate futures, and this work has involved studies of the genetic connectivity of different coral species, both within Florida and throughout the wider Caribbean.

Andrew Baker

Professor

University of Miami

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