Join us in welcoming our newest faculty member, Dr. Sandra Brooke. As a coral ecologist, she has worked around the world, from England to the Cayman Islands to Virginia and back to the UK, identifying sensitive coral reefs and informing policy decisions about management and protection of these coral reef ecosystems. She also works to ensure adequate enforcement of regulations so that sensitive ecosystems are truly protected.
From there she has worked on deep-water coral projects in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, Norwegian Fjords, South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically in the Gulf of Mexico she has conducted post-Deepwater Horizon oil spill assessments, influencing policy that will ensure protections for deep-sea coral ecosystems in the Southeastern US.
In addition to her deep-water coral work, Dr. Brooke will be finding new projects in the shallower reaches of the Gulf of Mexico, particularly right off the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory where there are a number of interesting soft-coral sponge reef assemblages.
She brings an exciting new area to our research team and we are thrilled to have her.