Melissa Versteeg

Certain coral reef fishes form an obligate mutualism with their host territory, meaning that both fishes and host do not survive without the mutual relationship. Though beneficial, this association also renders both parties more exposed to negative environmental impacts, as they remain in close contact throughout incidents of environmental stress. Given the expectancy of increased environmental stress on coral reefs in the future due to climate change, focussing on coral reef fishes and environmental stress exposure is necessary to identify aspects of resilience and vulnerability.

My research uses small-scale monitoring of anemonefishes as a tractable model to examine coral reef fishes with high site dependence. Along inshore reefs in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, I monitor (a)biotic stressors such as pH, temperature, and turbidity, to study their spatial and temporal impacts on anemonefishes.