Climate Café Series

Note: Participants on Zoom will not be able to participate in audience Q&A.

The Climate Café series returns October 29, 2025, with a timely conversation on the future of Florida’s Coral Reef—an ecosystem under mounting stress from rising ocean temperatures, disease and pollution. Join scientists from the Rosenstiel School and its NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) as they share groundbreaking efforts to restore and protect coral reefs across Florida and the Caribbean.

Discover how “Flonduran” elkhorn corals - produced by crossing Florida’s elkhorn corals with elkhorns from Honduras – are being used in a world-first attempt to help boost the climate resilience of Florida reefs. And how providing baby corals with the right microbes early in life can greatly increase their ability to resist heat-induced coral bleaching. Using innovative strategies such as these, University of Miami scientists are developing new restoration approaches to safeguard biodiversity and sustain the many benefits coral reefs provide to coastal communities.

Also learn why “urban corals” thriving in extreme environments like the Port of Miami may hold clues to resilience in a changing climate, and how five key stressors—ocean acidification, hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, warming, and excessive nutrients— can harm South Florida’s coastal ecosystems. CIMAS scientists will explain how these studies can deliver actionable insights to guide coral restoration efforts, as well as water quality and fisheries management.

Moderated by award-winning WLRN NPR environment reporter Jenny Staletovich, this session invites students and the community into an interactive discussion with leading scientists about the challenges—and opportunities—facing coral reefs in our region.

Featured speakers:

., Director, Coral Reef Futures Lab; Professor, Marine Biology and Ecology

Associate Scientist, University of Miami NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies

Associate Scientist, University of Miami NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division

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Host or Publisher University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science