- About postgraduate study
- Part-time study
- Courses
- Faculties
- UK students
- EU students
- International Students
- How to apply for your course
- Handy Hints
- Open Events
- Student Recruitment
- Money Matters
- About Us
21 Feb 2008 12:28:41
A world expert in marine biology at the University of Bedfordshire will be raising awareness of the value and importance of coral reefs throughout 2008 which has been designated the 'International Year of the Reef.'
Professor James Crabbe, Dean of the Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science (CATS) will give a talk on 22 February about the impact of climate change on coral reefs at a public lecture series entitled ‘Global Impacts of Climate Change: the Human Dimension’, held at Birkbeck College, in London.
He will review the latest research on how climate influences corals, and how science can lead to conservation projects, with benefits for human populations reliant on the reefs for their survival.
On 5 April he will be talking at the Institute of Biology’s East Anglia Branch in Norwich. The Institute’s annual general meeting will discuss ‘Crop Growth and Climate Changes’.
In July he will also attend the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida, where scientists, conservationists, economists, and educators from around the globe will meet to advance coral reef science, management, and conservation.
Professor Crabbe said: “The Year of the Reef initiative aims to raise awareness that more needs to be done to safeguard the future of coral reefs around the globe. They are the oldest, most complex ecosystems on earth, home to some of the world’s most colourful and diverse life forms.
“A report released last month by The World Conservation Union revealed at least 50 per cent of the world's coral reefs are dangerously threatened by increasingly strong storms and warming oceans which leads to widespread bleaching and death of corals.
“If they continue to be destroyed at the present rate, apart from losing 200 million-year-old ecosystems, there will be huge economic implications for people living in the tropics as their food source will be destroyed. It will also lead to more severe weather conditions ruining settlements, as corals act as a barrier.”
Over the last five years, Professor Crabbe’s research into the survival of reefs around the word has made international headlines. He has developed hi-tech computer models and currently works on the genetics, recruitment and survival of reef-building corals around Discovery Bay, in Jamaica, and in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia. He has also set up a research project with the Mauritius Oceanography Department, to save coral colonies in Mauritius.
In 2006 Professor Crabbe won the AVIVA Earthwatch award for Climate Change Research to help him continue his research into studying the world’s coral reefs. Last year he was appointed Vice Chair of the East of England Engineering, Science and Technology Association (EEESTA), which aims to bring together professional institutions and individuals in the region to promote and deliver Engineering, Science, Maths and Technology.
To find out more about Professor Crabbe’s research visit www.beds.ac.uk/departments/cats/james-crabbe
Latest news» 2008» February» Professor promotes the International ‘Year of the Reef’
