Marine biologist Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan explains his team’s groundbreaking work in developing a new scale to assess coral reefs. The new letter-grade scale replaces the outdated standards and helps scientists, policymakers, and citizen scientists better understand reef health. This research has already influenced national guidelines and could reshape how we protect our reefs. #CoralReefsPH #MarineScience #FilipinoScientist #EcosystemServices

⌛Chapters

00:00 Starting the Conversation on Marine Research

00:30 Podcast and Partners Introduction

04:01 Introduction to the Shore Center and Projects

07:47 Citizen Science and Coral Reef Monitoring

11:46 Introduction to the Monopod for Reef Surveys

17:57 Review of the Policy Brief on Coral Cover

30:04 Understanding Hard Corals and Coral Reefs

35:53 Understanding the Status of Coral Reefs

41:06 Changing Assessment Methods

46:15 Assessing Ecosystem Services

51:36 NAKER Program Projects

55:12 Research Challenges and Successes

01:01:05 Translating Science into Action

01:06:39 Advice for Beginning Researchers

📚Reference: Licuanan WY. 2020. New scales to guide the assessment of hard coral cover and diversity in the Philippines. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, 27(2), 121-126.

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🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.