Graduate wins coral research grant - graduate jobs

A Sheffield University graduate has been awarded £100,000 to find coral reefs that are tough enough to withstand environmental damage.

Professor Peter Mumby, now at the University of Exeter, was given the 2010 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, including the £100,000 grant for three years of scientific research or conservation work in the oceans.

Reefs will be identified through a scientific model tha the will create and then use for reserves in waters around the Bahamas.

Unrelated data such as the risk of hurricanes, pollution in the ocean, the relationship between coral reefs and how corals react to stress will be integrated to create a picture of how resilient the reefs are.

This combined method will more accurately identify systems of coral that are more likely to survive and which therefore deserve more protection.

Professor Mumby said: "Because coral reefs are vulnerable to so many different threats, it is crucial we put resources toward reefs that have the greatest opportunity for long-term survival. The Pew Marine Fellowship offers an opportunity to develop the models needed make management decisions that best protect coral reefs."