Johansen Fish Resilience Program

Fishes on coral reefs are extremely diverse and play many roles. Some forage on algae that otherwise overgrow and kill corals, while others are critical for a productive, sustainable fisheries (upon which >500mio people depend). However, many species are also highly sensitive to stress and will decline or disappear when conditions surpass their tolerance thresholds (e.g. from deteriorating water quality and pollution).

Our research has three primary purposes:

1. Reveal what happens to coral reef fishes when they are exposed to escalating environmental stress;
2. Quantify the exact conditions reef fishes need (or can tolerate) in order to thrive; and
3. Provide scalable solutions to preserve, restore and increase reef fish and fisheries productivity.

With a strong background in ecological physiology and behavioral ecology, research teams in the Fish Resilience Program use innovative combinations of field and laboratory techniques to understand impacts of disturbances on species health and resilience, and provide practical solutions to increase reef fish health and abundance.