Geomorphology of Holocene reefs in relation to environmental conditions

Mike Hynes is based at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. He completed a BSc in Geology at the University of Calgary, Canada and a MSc Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.

His research is focused on assessing current and past reef accretion rates of turbid reefs of Makassar. He will collect cores from the reef slopes and flats to examine the drivers of reef accretion and growth from the past to the present. Further, he will examine the loss of coral cover and reef builders to determine what impact this will have on reef geomorphology. This will be supplemented with seismic data, reef transect surveys, and ocean floor mapping to better compare coral cover and accretion between the past and the present. If we can better understand how turbid reefs have adapted to climate change and human impacts, we can better predict the future of coral reefs.

Publications

• Łukowiak M, Cramer KL, Madzia D, Hynes MG, Norris RD, Dea AO (2018) Historical change in a Caribbean reef sponge community and long-term loss of sponge predators. Marine Ecology Progress Series 601:  127-137. doi: 10.3354/meps12694