Andrew Baker, Ph.D.

Research

Andrew Baker is a professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Baker’s Pew fellowship research focused on understanding the adaptive response of reef corals to climate change and ocean acidification, and combined laboratory experiments in Miami with fieldwork around the world. This included the inoculation of corals with heat-tolerant algal symbionts to help them resist climate change, and the production of “chimeric corals”—corals of the same genotype that have been manipulated to host different symbionts. Baker’s lab currently studies genetic connectivity of corals in the Florida reef tract, the links between deep and shallow reefs, and the upstream sources of coral recruitment into the Florida Keys from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Baker currently is working on the application of this research to inform management actions to increase the resilience of coral reefs to climate change, including interventions such as genetic redistribution, assisted colonization, and symbiont inoculation. He plans to publish his findings in 2016.

To learn more about Baker, visit his bio online: https://people.miami.edu/profile/[email protected]