Iliana Baums

'Tradionally, we used to think that marine larvae don't have anything to say about their distribution. They were supposed to be passively transported via ocean currents over long distances. In that way populations were all interconnected, even those at remote locations. Nowadays we know that this is not true at all. Marine larvae have a way of their own, leading to closed populations on smaller spatial scales. This changes the way we design conservation measures of shallow water marine communities.'

Dr. Iliana Baums studies the ecology, biogeography, population structure and mating patterns of corals and other marine invertebrates at a molecular level. For example, without the use of molecular tools it is not possible to know whether coral recruits have regrown from a patch of tissue left over from a bigger colony (asexual reproduction) or if it is a recently settled larva growing into an adult colony (sexual reproduction). The work of Baums is aimed at getting a better understanding of ecosystems and conservation efforts.

Coral reef restoration is often carried out by repopulating damaged or degraded reefs with coral fragments. With the listing of Caribbean Acropora as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, several of such projects are underway. Baums agrees that transplantation of corals is an effective way to restore reefs, but she also points out that it will almost inevitably decrease genetic diversity.

To overcome the problem of declining genotypic diversity Dr. Baums studies the way in which sexually produced offspring may be used in coral conservation efforts. In collaboration with SECORE she studies how to determine which sexually and/or asexually produced coral transplants of Acropora are most suitable for reef restoration. The results of her work will help to determine where these transplants maybe moved safely, considering factors such as their degree of adaptation to local conditions.