Karl Castillo
Assistant Professor of Marine Science and Environment and Ecology
Murray Hall 4202E
919-843-8752
karl_castillo@unc.edu
Coral Physiological Ecology, Climate Change, and Conservation Research projects in the Castillo Lab are at the interface of ecology and physiology. A variety of ecophysiological research tools and techniques are employed to examine the mechanisms that underlie the relationships between coastal marine organisms and their environment. Recent research efforts are focused on establishing quantitative links between field and controlled laboratory experiments to investigate how tropical corals interact with their physical environment and how their environmental history influences their physiological performance. Ecophysiological methods are also employed to investigate and predict the impact future changes in our climate such as rising seawater temperature and ocean acidification will have on coral organisms across a variety of spatiotemporal scales. Significant effort is made to apply research findings to coral reef conservation and marine protected area design.