Coral Bleaching: Multiple Perspectives in Ecology Curriculum

Coral bleaching research is at the heart of my fellowship in the Pringle Lab at Stanford, where they study the symbiosis between reef-building corals and dinoflagellate algae. This symbiosis is crucial to the survival of coral reefs. When this symbiosis breaks down, coral bleaching occurs and the diverse ecosystems coral support die. The lessons following here take coral bleaching as a meaningful and relevant scientific phenomenon to revisit throughout the year as a central part of my biology curriculum. To help my students build an understanding of coral bleaching (including what it is, why it matters, and what we can do about it), students complete three investigations in each of our three ecology units. Each of those investigations touches on different aspects of ecology and human impact and uses a distinct science practice to explore the coral bleaching phenomenon. In this way, coral bleaching acts as an anchor and context for learning multiple biological concepts, ways of thinking scientifically, as well as scientific perspectives through which marine environments (and all environments) may be viewed.