MicroEcology Lab

New faces in @MicroSensing

Corals may face more than bleaching during marine heatwaves. New research shows that microscopic cilia that help corals transport oxygen can collapse under extreme heat, creating severe oxygen stress and accelerating mortality. A new physiological tipping point for coral survival in a warming ocean. 🔗 bese.kaust.edu.sa/news/detail/20… #CoralReefs #OceanScience #ClimateChange @pacherres_co @MicroSensing

Experiments and mathematical theory reveal how cilia generate 3D flows and transport oxygen around reef-building corals. @PRX_Life @pacherres_co @MicroSensing @MCNDLab @uommedia. Supported by @arc_gov_au Future Fellowship and @MooreFound journals.aps.org/prxlife/abstra…

Combining mathematical modeling and experiments. A great story by Antony Selvan and myself together with @BrumleyLab @MicroSensing and collaborators. Supported by @arc_gov_au @MooreFound #MSCA #coral #cilia @PRX_Life doi.org/10.1103/fhfw-f…

Et internationalt forskerhold med danske forskere i spidsen har fundet en ny og ekstra forklaring på, hvorfor koraller lider i varmere havvand som følge af de menneskeskabte klimaforandringer politiken.dk/del/XQpN8cAHR7…

Thanks @BrumleyLab for this nice and very inspiring, interdisciplinary collaboration👍

Our findings reveal a hidden tipping point in coral survival: corals may begin to suffocate internally before or alongside bleaching These process occur in a water layer <1mm tick, easy to miss in conventional measurements but potentially critical for understanding coral health

At higher temperatures, cilia coordination stops. Microscopic flows collapse, oxygen transport slows, and oxygen levels inside the coral drop to critical levels Using high-speed microscopy, oxygen imaging and flow measurements we directly visualize flow and oxygen around corals

But the benefit doesn’t last. As temperatures rise further, these flows begin recirculating oxygen poor water near the coral surface, while coral oxygen demand keeps increasing.

Under moderate warming, corals initially cope as their cilia starts to beat faster, essentially creating stronger swirls and temporarily improving oxygen transport. This mechanism is particularly important at night when both the coral and symbiotic algae consume oxygen.

Corals 🪸 are covered with tiny hair-like structures called cilia. Their synchronized beating creates microscopic swirling flows that act like a natural ventilation system, helping transport oxygen around the coral tissue.

Coral reefs are increasingly threaten by marine heatwaves, but what pushes corals past their breaking point? New in @ScienceAdvances: we found that corals can lose the microscopic system that helps move oxygen around their tissues during heat stress 🪸 science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Thank you to all collaborators and funding agencies who made this research possible: Michael Kühl @MicroSensing Mads, Mikkel @uni_copenhagen Douglas @BrumleyLab Soeren @SoerenAhm Max, Manuel @KAUST @MooreFound @novonordiskfond @arc_gov_au #MSCA

New research finds that heat stress can disrupt and eventually destroy corals’ cilia-based ventilation systems. scim.ag/3RCKBcp

Heat-stressed cilia increase coral deoxygenation. This collaborative work published in @ScienceAdvances with @pacherres_co @MicroSensing @SoerenAhm examines how microscopic currents generated by corals vary with water temperature. @arc_gov_au @MooreFound science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

New review on #luminescence #lifetime #imaging - #FLIM and #PLIM Massive work by @FlImagin3_DN PhD students @HarkhoeRishi and GabrieleFerrari. Nice collaboration with @PhotoBioLab Check it out🤓 @MooreFound pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ac…

Great fun at the 2025 DHL run 2 teams: KühlKids1 & KühkKids2

Great work Nikki👍

New paper alert 🚨 my 2nd PhD chapter has been published ‼️ Uncovering increased maximum oxyregulation capacity retained in corals transplanted from an extreme mangrove environment to a reef flat on the Great Barrier Reef🪸 doi.org/10.1016/j.envr…

I would bet that Don Bryant knew more about phototrophic physiology than anyone who has ever lived on Earth. link.springer.com/article/10.100…