The Marine Sciences research group have a long standing tradition of research around Indonesia and during 2004 the University of Essex signed a research Memorandum of Understanding with Hasanuddin University, Sulawesi. Each year a number of postgraduate and academic staff travel to Indonesia to carry out experiments and field surveys on the coral reefs of Hoga Island located within the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP). The WMNP is the second largest marine Park within Indonesia and is located within the most species rich seas in the world. Current research activities include:
Ecophysiology
- Photoacclimation of reef building corals
- The effects of environmental stress of coral biology and ecology
- The photophysiology of tropical Seagrasses
- Isoprene production within Tropical Marine Ecosystems
Conservation and Natural Resource Management
- Socio-Economic Assessment and Natural resource Management in small island communities
- The role of ecological knowledge in local and traditional management of natural resources
- The sustainable management of mangroves
- Identification of coral reef management performance criteria and the development of resolute biotic indices of reef health.
Tropical Marine Ecosystem Ecology
- Growth dynamics of key coral species
- Functional redundancy of coral reef systems
- Behavioural plasticity of reef fishes
- Connectivity between tropical shallow water habitats: mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reef systems
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For more information about the Wakatobi Marine National Park, visit www.wakatobi.org
