building corals and their zooxanthellae are susceptible to thermal stress. I have pioneered the understanding of coral bleaching and am a recognised world authority on coral bleaching. My work in this area has spanned Australian and Pacific waters. Our laboratory recently gained international attention for identifying the molecular mechanism that explains why bleaching occur (Calvin Cycle dysfunction, Hoegh-Guldberg and Jones, MEPS in press, Jones, Hoegh-Guldberg, Schreiber and Larkum 1998, Plant, Cell and Environment, 21:1219-1230). This perspective, which suggests that coral bleaching is due to the lowering of the algal threshold for photoinhibition, is rapidly being accepted as the model that explains why coral bleaching occurs. My research group is currently pursuing (1) a detailed molecular model for the bleaching phenomenon, (2) an explanation for the diversity of responses seen among coral-zooxanthellae associations to putative bleaching stress and (3) an investigation of whether (and how) corals and their zooxanthellae can adapt/acclimate to increased water temperatures. A recent Quantum documentary profiled our work (ABC, Silent Sentinels, see transcript)
