CORALASSIST LAB

Eveline van der Steeg
Ph. D. candidate
Email: e.van-der-steeg2@newcastle.ac.uk,
Telephone Palau: +680 778 4289
Supervisors: Dr. James Guest, Dr. Adriana Humanes and Dr. Margaret Miller
I am interested in coral reef restoration through sexual coral propagation. For my Ph.D., I will study the optimization of survivorship, growth and cost-effectiveness of different coral breeding and restoration techniques in Palau. I am exploring different shapes of settlement units, various outplant ages and sizes and low-tech grazing exclusion methods. My research will focus on breeding, growing and transplanting corals for restoration purposes.
In 2016 I completed my M.Sc. in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York. For my summer placement, I secured an internship at the Gates Coral Lab in Hawaii. Here I studied the effects of bleaching on the reproduction of a broadcast spawning coral to selectively breed higher temperature tolerance. In 2014 I completed my B.Sc. in Biology at Utrecht University. For my thesis, I studied the removal of nutrients in the coral reef display at the Burgers’ Zoo Coral Reef Aquarium and set up a protocol. I have always had a great affinity for the ocean and love diving and working on coral reef ecosystems.