Coral Health and Disease Assessment Workshop

This is an intensive 8-day hands-on, in-water practical program. The training will focus on coral reef health assessment in the field with activities aimed to help students understand the importance of health monitoring in coral reef ecosystems, threats to coral reefs, field and laboratory methods used to assess coral reef health, their advantages and limitations, and management practices that can help reefs become more resilient. 

The workshop will be divided into a series of classroom lessons and field activities.

It will be co- ordinated by Dr. Greta Aeby of Qatar University, who, for the past two decades, has been researching the ecology of coral diseases in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. She is currently working on coral health in the Middle East and is a consultant on the disease outbreak in Florida. Dr. Michelle M Dennis is an Associate Professor of anatomic pathology at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, and has over 15 years’ experience in diagnosis and research of aquatic animal diseases, including marine mammals, sea turtles, finfish, gastropods, crustaceans, bivalves, and corals. Dr. Simone Montano of the University of Milano-Bicocca, who has worked on the ecology and biodiversity of Maldivian coral reefs.

The program will be held at the Marine Research and High Education Center (MaRHE Center) of Milano-Bicocca University in Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, about three hours by speedboat from Malé airport. All field activities will be carried out using SCUBA diving and snorkeling.