Graduate students Shrinivas Nandi and Miriam Arroyo present their posters at the Rutgers Climate Symposium 2025, named the “The Blue Planet”, sponsored by the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute.
Shrinivas is studying the microbiome of Sargassum to develop tools for degrading this seaweed into useful products.
Miriam is designing a genetic toolkit for monitoring the health of corals to aid reef conservation.
Coral reefs make up less than 1% of the ocean floor but are home to about one-quarter of all marine biodiversity. Providing sustenance to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, coral reefs also act as natural shock absorbers, protecting low-lying communities from wave surge. These magnificent ecosystems are however in grave danger due to human-caused climate change that is warming and acidifying the world’s oceans. Our film introduces the coral holobiont and explains how scientists are using modern genomics tools to aid coral reef conservation.
The prizes are:
Chicago VAiFF – Winner 2022 – Best Children / Family
Toronto Short Film Festival – Official Selection
Mannheim Arts and Film Festival – Best Animation
Berlin Kiez – Official Selection
Berlin GRACE- Official Selection
