Crab behavior suggestive of wound-tending may improve coral tolerance to heat waves.

Meet the Ocean Synthesis Lab, learn more about its research focus, lab members' experiences in the lab and the opportunities the lab offers Duke students.

Brian Silliman, Rachel Carson Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke, explains why he studies salt marshes in coastal North Carolina: They increase production of seafood, help protect against storms, and clean the air. With climate change causing stress to these organisms, coastal communities are more vulnerable. ”Duke is very active in the conservation and restoration of salt marshes,” says Silliman.

Xavier Basurto, Truman and Nellie Semans/Alex Brown & Sons Associate Professor of sustainability science, studies community-based marine conservation. Basurto discusses how fishers can help us understand the effects of climate change by listening to their experiences.

Duke University’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab led a team of researchers that mapped the population density of North Atlantic right whales worldwide to predict and help avoid harmful, even fatal, exposure to commercial fishing and vessel strikes.

Large cooperatives adopt conservation measures for shifting climate conditions, even without government oversight

Come along with us on a journey of renewal and resurgence as we explore how students and scientists are rebuilding nature in viable ways. Discover the transformative initiatives of Duke Restore, where innovation meets conservation and regeneration, restoring the hope of a more sustainable tomorrow.

Juliet Wong is a global-change biologist, specifically interested in how climate change affects marine ecosystems and their organisms, working to predict biological responses for improved resilience to adverse environmental events. Wong presented “Organismal Responses to Climate Change in the Sea” at the recent faculty research symposium, describing several ongoing studies on coastal marine invertebrates.

Xavier Basurto is broadly interested in how people in small communities successfully organize themselves for collective action. His recent talk described his work in advancing the understanding of non-colonialist sustainability science: the prospects and limitations of self-organization, or self-governance, for social-ecological sustainability, particularly in the Global South.

Researchers at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Pratt School of Engineering are co-leading a new National Science Foundation-funded project that aims to boost economic development and climate resilience in coastal North Carolina through nature-based scientific and technological innovations.

The Duke Plastic Pollution Working Group is working to find solutions, through innovative technologies, practices and policies that can help curb plastic waste, reduce its harmful impacts, and make Earth a greener, healthier home for us all.

The National Science Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have awarded a $1.2 million grant to support a new initiative aimed at boosting ecosystem restoration and climate resilience along North Carolina’s coast.

Three undergraduate students with a passion for climate change research describe their unique opportunities to study at the Duke University Marine Lab.

The Illuminating Hidden Harvests Report culminates a collaborative research effort led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Duke University and WorldFish examining the multifaceted contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development.

Duke scholars and students were among more than 800 experts who contributed to global study calling for policymakers to consider contributions of small fisheries