Together with Dr Ross Jones (postdoctoral fellow) from my laboratory, we are currently seeking funds from the Nature Conservancy and the World Bank to follow up on a series of preliminary measurements that show that cyanide has highly destructive effects on the health of reef-building corals. In these preliminary experiments we have used Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence and have identified cyanide specific 'photoinhibition' and eventual cyanide mediated photodestruction of the zooxanthellae that inhabit all reef-building corals. These results are currently attracting attention worldwide. We are also the only laboratory currently investigating cyanide impacts on reef-building corals.
