For World Oceans Day, the young marine biologist takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues that plague the underwater world and shares glimpses of her work.
As published on Nature inFocus on 07 June, 2022.
Forest fires, melting glaciers, drought-cracked earth, polluted waters and bleached corals—the collage on the State of the Global Climate 2021 report presents a grim picture for the future of our planet. Among the report’s most talked-about findings are the record-high levels of ocean temperatures and acidification levels documented in the past year. Another recent study by researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Germany, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited, New Zealand, and the University of Tasmania has shown for the first time that even the miniscule diatoms are impacted by ocean acidification. Diatoms are an important aspect of the underwater food chain and form a significant percentage of the ocean’s floral biomass. The study reveals how far-reaching the effects of global warming are and that the oceans need our immediate attention.
But on this World Oceans Day, we thought we would also share some hope besides the doom and gloom. Hope that stems from the fact that people are working relentlessly to protect the oceans. Hope kindled by the numerous young minds that have made it their mission to explore and understand the underwater world. Hope that arises from the promise that with collective action, we can see change. And to instil that hope in all of us, we asked young researcher Shreya Yadav to share her thoughts on some critical ocean-related issues.
Yadav is a marine biologist who is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. She is close to the finish line as she is presently preparing to defend her dissertation on ‘Investigating historical, social and ecological dimensions of coral reef resilience’.
Her research interests include coral reef ecology, social-ecological resilience, and marine historical ecology.In the past, she has written for us about the organisms that call the corals home. She has also shared scintillating images and facts about jellyfish. Her Instagram feed is a delight with glimpses of her world, both under and above water. She frequently attempts to share science with the larger masses through images, books and informative articles, bringing us metaphorically closer to the oceans. And she constantly shares hope through these endeavours. As she writes on her blog Surface Interval—”The science floats to the front of my brain. The word resilience swims around in there, unable to hook itself to a feeling. I remind myself that decades of research here has found that these particular corals will probably make it through.”
On that note, here is Shreya Yadav.
Read the full interview on Nature inFocus.