Corals and Their Microbial Neighbors

Laura Weber, Ph.D. student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, studies the microscopic organisms that inhabit the seawater surrounding coral reefs. She wants to know how corals and microbes living in the ocean interact with one another, chemically and physically. Weber has done fieldwork at reefs in Florida and Cuba but spends most of her days in the lab of her advisor, WHOI marine microbial ecologist Amy Apprill, analyzing samples to gain a more holistic view of the coral reef environment. “I think we are just on the cusp of understanding how integrated these communities are,” she said. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)