Chris Perry – The Conversation

Drone image of a coral reef in the Campeche Bank in the Gulf of Mexico. Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

May 5, 2026

Massive marine heatwave caused Caribbean coral reefs to collapse much faster than predicted – new research

Chris Perry, University of Exeter and Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Coral reefs underpin tourism and small fisheries, but are under threat from rising ocean temperatures.

Weedy corals colonise a dead reef structure in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Lauren T Toth

September 17, 2025

Caribbean coral reefs are running out of time to keep up with rising seas – new study

Chris Perry, University of Exeter; Christopher Cornwall, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Coral reefs will stop growing and many will start to erode if global warming hits 2°C, according to a new study of 400 sites.

Morgan Pratchett, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

May 10, 2021

The outlook for coral reefs remains grim unless we cut emissions fast — new research

Christopher Cornwall, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Chris Perry, University of Exeter; Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Griffith University; Steeve Comeau, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, and Verena Schoepf, University of Amsterdam

A study of 183 coral reefs worldwide quantified the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on reef growth rates. Even under the lowest emissions scenarios, the future of reefs is not bright.

Contact Chris for