Igor Pessoa

Visiting Researcher

Institute of Marine Sciences

ipessoa[at]ucsc[dot]edu 

Research interests: Isotope Geochemistry, Marine Biogeochemistry, Marine Pollution, Coral Reef Restoration

 

Biography

I am originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I did my undergraduate degree in Oceanography at Rio de Janeiro State University. I have been studying pollution sources in marine protected areas since my undergraduate degree and have been involved in a variety of research projects focusing on marine pollution. In 2021, I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to conduct part of my Ph.D. research at the Paytan Lab (UCSC). Initially, I came to conduct geochemical work on coral samples I collected in Brazil but during my stay at the Paytan Lab, I expanded my work to Hawaii to include field based coral resilience and restoration. The main challenge in my research is to assess coral biodiversity security and prevent the extinction of certain coral species. As an oceanographer researching anthropogenic influences on corals, I see the current environmental stressors as a difficult challenge for our oceans and reefs, and I am profoundly alarmed about the threats that coral reef ecosystems around the world face.

Research

My research focuses on adaptation and bleaching resistance processes to better understand reef resilience and reef decline processes around the island of Maui (Hawaii). The work focuses on the identification of resilient corals folded into management options and interventions of reef restoration. Hawaii’s coral reefs are impacted by both local and global anthropogenic stressors and it is vital to identify individual colonies that are naturally more resilient and use them for restoration. I will first try to identify what makes particular corals more resilient in shallow-water reefs and then focus on supporting those particular corals to prevent their demise. The first priority will be a proper baseline assessment of coral cover to establish what remains and what has been lost, both coral cover and coral species diversity. Baseline reef surveys will be undertaken to collect data on coral reef health, natural recovery processes, and bleaching resistance. This will be done to provide advice on future scenarios regarding the impact of multiple threats to coral reefs, in an effort to inform local stakeholders so they can improve management actions that are necessary to advance reef restoration interventions.