2024
January 2024: The lab welcomes new PhD student, Krista Laforest to officially start her work next fall semester! Welcome, Krista!
2023
December 15, 2023: Dr. Fogarty was interviewed by local WHQR news about future projects with the recently awarded CORDAP grant, the recent expansion of our lab, and the current state of wild coral reefs. Check out the interview here! https://www.whqr.org/local/2023-12-15/coral-researchers-from-uncw-turn-to-innovative-methods-to-save-the-worlds-reefs
August 2023: The lab welcomes new graduate student, Ashley Weeks! Welcome, Ashley!
July 2023: Completed expansion of SEAS facility including innovative light-blocking spawning cubicles!
January 2023: The lab welcomes new graduate student, Meg Van Horn! Welcome, Meg!
2022
2021
November 2021: The lab welcomes new Lab Manager and Coral Research Specialist, Louis-Pierre Rich! Welcome, Louis!
August 2021: Another successful spawning in the REEF Lab! This is the second year of spawning the species Orbicella faveolata and Pseudodiploria clivosa!
July 2021: Started construction of NEST facility at CMS!
2020
August 20, 2020: The REEF Lab experiences spawning of the temperate coral, Astrangia poculata. Check it out on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/CEInzl5BcBY/
August 11 & 12, 2020: Two corals spawned for the first time in captivity-- Psuedodiploria clivosa and Orbicella faveolata! See our Instagram page for the videos! https://www.instagram.com/p/CD2Sf4bB6N-/
August 1, 2020: New graduate student, Reanna Jeanes joins the Coral REEF Lab. Welcome!
June 2020: Started construction of the SEAS facility!
April 13, 2020: REEFer Sharla Sugeirski is awarded $2,000 from the Explorers Club OceanX Grant for her work on examining how microplastics influence coral health.
March 31, 2020: REEFer, Bryce Corbett, gets and honorable mention in the NSF GFRP.
March 7, 2020: Dr. Fogarty and graduate student Sharla Sugierski take 15 undergradate students to Belize to study coral reefs.
January 24, 2020: REEFer, Kelly Pitts, publishes her master's thesis in Coral Reefs. Click the research tab to view article.
2019
September 16, 2019: Dr. Fogarty has a perspective published in Science. Click on the research tab, then publication tab to obtain a copy of the article.
Aug. 14, 2019: Dr. Fogarty, Kory Enneking, Bryce Corbett, and Sharla Sugierski travel to Belize for coral spawning research.
Aug. 1, 2019: New graduate students, Bryce Corbett and Sharla Sugierski join the Coral REEF lab. Welcome!
April 3-6, 2019. Dr. Fogarty presents at the Benthic Ecology Meeting in Newfoundland, Canada. Former Coral REEFer, Cassie VanWynen, who received a best student poster award at BEM. Since the REEF lab moved to UNCW, Cassie joined the NSU CREMP lab where she continues to do an excellent job. Dr. Fogarty continues to serve on Cassie's committee from afar.
March 2019: Dr. Fogarty speaks to four 6ths graders from Wilmington Academy about coral reef conservation.
January 2019: REEF Lab moves to the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington!
New Email: [email protected] | New Office Phone: (910) 962-3397 (See contact page for more information)
2018
Awards: Kory Enneking was awarded the Southern Florida Chapter of the Explorers Club Inc. Grant for his work on coral spawning in the Bahamas. Congratulations, Kory!
Awards: March 30, 2018: Congrats to the REEF lab for their excellent presentations at Benthic Ecology Meeeting. REEFers Kelly Pitts and Megan Bock won best student presentations for their talks, and Hannah Nylander-Asplin and Kory Enneking won the people's choice awards for their presentations- well done!
During the 2018 science fair, REEF Lab member Leah Harper mentored a high school student in a project investigating the effects of ocean warming and a pollution on the fertilization success of sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus.
2017
Awards: The REEF lab partners with Norwegian Cruise Lines to establish a coral nursery and coral recruitment research off Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.
Awards: Lab Member Murphy McDonald received a Lab Assistant job working with the Biological Science Department at Nova Southeastern University. She will be assisting in teaching the Marine Biology course for undergraduate students.
Research, September 2017: Kelly Habicht heads to Carrie Bow Cay Field Station to conduct her thesis research investigating the effects of ocean warming and acidification on the early life history stages of Orbicella faveolata.
Research, August 2017: Dr. Nicole Fogarty, along with lab members Leah Harper, Alicia Vollmer, Kelly Habicht, Megan Bock, and Morgan Hightshoe head to Belize to conduct coral spawning research. Leah and Morgan work near Laughing Bird Island while Dr. Fogarty, Alicia, Kelly and Megan worked from Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.
The REEF Lab welcomes Kory Enneking and Murphy McDonald to the team! Kory and Murphy started their first semester at Nova Southeastern University during the Summer (2017) and are pursuing their Master's in Marine Biology.
Research, July 2017: Graduate student Hannah Nylander-Asplin heads to the US Virgin Island with a team of scientists from NOAA to collect coral samples around St. Thomas and St. John. The team also worked near Buck Island National Marine Sanctuary in St. Croix to tag queen conch and deploy acoustic receivers.
Research, July 2017: Graduate student Morgan Hightshoe completes a 2 week study investigating disease transmission in the Florida Keys.
Outreach: Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer speak to REU students in Hopkins, Belize about current laboratory research associated with the NSF grant, July 9, 2017.
Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize to participate in the Smithsonian monitoring project, July 5-13, 2017.
Award: REEF lab students Alicia Vollmer and Morgan Hightshoe receive 2nd place awards in the annual Shutter Shark photo contest. Alicia Vollmer won 2nd place in the Seascape category while Morgan Hightshoe won 2nd place in the Conservation category, May 2017. Lab member Hannah Nylander-Asplin also won 1st place award in the Seascape category http://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_shuttershark_2017/
Outreach & Award: REEF lab members Megan Bock, Morgan Hightshoe, Leah Harper, and Alicia Vollmer attend the 2017 Association of Marine Laboratories (AMLC) Conference in Merida, Mexico, May 22-26, 2017. Students Megan Bock and Morgan Hightshoe were awarded 2nd and 3rd place for best student presentations at the conference. Student Hannah Nylander-Asplin receives a $1,000 AMLC scholarship. https://nsunews.nova.edu/sharkbytes/
Award: REEF lab students Alicia Vollmer and Hannah Nylander-Asplin receive teaching assistant positions through the Nova Southeastern University's Biological Science Department, May 2017.
Dr. Fogarty and lab members, Morgan Hightshoe and Megan Bock, travel to Carrie Bow Cay Field Station in Belize for disease tolerance experiments, May 8-22, 2017. https://nsunews.nova.edu/sharkbytes/
The REEF lab attends the 2017 Benthic Ecology Meeting in Myrtle Beach, SC, April 12-16, 2017. Dr. Fogarty and graduate students, Megan Bock, Leah Harper, Morgan Hightshoe, Alicia Vollmer, and Anna Jordan present their research findings.
Outreach: Graduate students, Kelly Habicht and Hannah Nylander-Asplin speak at NSU open house about current laboratory research, March 5, 2017.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks about her hybridization research to approximately 160 students at Northeastern High School for the Darwin Day Roadshow, Feb. 15, 2017.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty and colleagues Dr. Kristen Marhaver and Valerie Chamberland present a "Coral spawning and larval propagation" webinar for the first Caribbean Coral Restoration Webinar Series, Feb. 8, 2017.
Outreach: Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer speak to visiting P.A.C.E members about current laboratory research, Feb. 3, 2017.
Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize to participate in the Smithsonian monitoring project, Jan. 16-26, 2017.
2016
Dr. Fogarty and graduate students Hunter Noren, Morgan Hightshoe, and Megan Bock travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize for NSF coral hybridization and disease work, Aug. 17-Sept. 1, 2016.
Graduate student Alicia Vollmer travels to the Florida Keys for coral spawning with the Coral Restoration Foundation.
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Steven Miller, and graduate assistant, Morgan Hightshoe.
Award: NSU Fishing Tournament Scholarship awarded to graduate assistant, Megan Bock. Project title: Disease and thermal tolerance in the threatened coral, Acropora cervicornis (2016-2018).
Outreach: Graduate student Megan Bock attends Guy Harvey Outpost Fishing Tournament to speak about proposed research.
Award: Florida Department of Environmental Protection contract Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Esther Peters, and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer on a comprehensive conditions assessment.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty, Morgan Hightshoe, and Leah Harper speak about current laboratory research at South Broward Highschool.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty holds Q&A during the Changing Seas, “Speaking Sustainability” series at the Deering Estates.
Award: The Nature Conservancy contract Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Hunter Noren for Acropora cervicornis genotyping.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
2015
Award: Dr. Fogarty and collaborators Dr. Iliana Baums and Dr. Webb Miller awarded $1.1 million National Science Foundation grant to study coral hybridization.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty serves as Keynote speaker at the Frost Museum Underwater Festival.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistants, Alicia Vollmer and Margaret Rushmore.
Award: AMLC travel grant awarded to graduate student Ashley Dungan.
Award: Women in Fishing Grant awarded to graduate student Margaret Rushmore.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
Award: SEEC travel grant awarded to graduate student Justin Voss.
2014
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer.
Award: Shell Foundation Grant awarded to graduate student, Margaret Rushmore.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks at South Broward High School STEM workshop.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty serves on the scientific panel at the Beneath the Waves Film Festival in Miami.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
Award: Lerner-Gray Foundation Grant awarded to graduate student, Justin Voss.
Award: MIASF scholarship awarded to graduate student Charlie Gandia.
Award: Silva student grant from the International Phycological Society awarded to graduate student Justin Voss.
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Rob Ruzicka, Dr. Danny Gleason, and graduate assistant, Leah Harper.
2013
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Kellie Pelikan.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Joshua Stocker.
Award: Florida State Wildlife Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Jose Lopez, Dr. Don Levitan, and graduate assistant, Hunter Noren.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty films Changing Seas Series documentary "Coral Hybrids" produced by the Miami public broadcast system WPBT.
January 2024: The lab welcomes new PhD student, Krista Laforest to officially start her work next fall semester! Welcome, Krista!
2023
December 15, 2023: Dr. Fogarty was interviewed by local WHQR news about future projects with the recently awarded CORDAP grant, the recent expansion of our lab, and the current state of wild coral reefs. Check out the interview here! https://www.whqr.org/local/2023-12-15/coral-researchers-from-uncw-turn-to-innovative-methods-to-save-the-worlds-reefs
August 2023: The lab welcomes new graduate student, Ashley Weeks! Welcome, Ashley!
July 2023: Completed expansion of SEAS facility including innovative light-blocking spawning cubicles!
January 2023: The lab welcomes new graduate student, Meg Van Horn! Welcome, Meg!
2022
2021
November 2021: The lab welcomes new Lab Manager and Coral Research Specialist, Louis-Pierre Rich! Welcome, Louis!
August 2021: Another successful spawning in the REEF Lab! This is the second year of spawning the species Orbicella faveolata and Pseudodiploria clivosa!
July 2021: Started construction of NEST facility at CMS!
2020
August 20, 2020: The REEF Lab experiences spawning of the temperate coral, Astrangia poculata. Check it out on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/CEInzl5BcBY/
August 11 & 12, 2020: Two corals spawned for the first time in captivity-- Psuedodiploria clivosa and Orbicella faveolata! See our Instagram page for the videos! https://www.instagram.com/p/CD2Sf4bB6N-/
August 1, 2020: New graduate student, Reanna Jeanes joins the Coral REEF Lab. Welcome!
June 2020: Started construction of the SEAS facility!
April 13, 2020: REEFer Sharla Sugeirski is awarded $2,000 from the Explorers Club OceanX Grant for her work on examining how microplastics influence coral health.
March 31, 2020: REEFer, Bryce Corbett, gets and honorable mention in the NSF GFRP.
March 7, 2020: Dr. Fogarty and graduate student Sharla Sugierski take 15 undergradate students to Belize to study coral reefs.
January 24, 2020: REEFer, Kelly Pitts, publishes her master's thesis in Coral Reefs. Click the research tab to view article.
2019
September 16, 2019: Dr. Fogarty has a perspective published in Science. Click on the research tab, then publication tab to obtain a copy of the article.
Aug. 14, 2019: Dr. Fogarty, Kory Enneking, Bryce Corbett, and Sharla Sugierski travel to Belize for coral spawning research.
Aug. 1, 2019: New graduate students, Bryce Corbett and Sharla Sugierski join the Coral REEF lab. Welcome!
April 3-6, 2019. Dr. Fogarty presents at the Benthic Ecology Meeting in Newfoundland, Canada. Former Coral REEFer, Cassie VanWynen, who received a best student poster award at BEM. Since the REEF lab moved to UNCW, Cassie joined the NSU CREMP lab where she continues to do an excellent job. Dr. Fogarty continues to serve on Cassie's committee from afar.
March 2019: Dr. Fogarty speaks to four 6ths graders from Wilmington Academy about coral reef conservation.
January 2019: REEF Lab moves to the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington!
New Email: [email protected] | New Office Phone: (910) 962-3397 (See contact page for more information)
2018
Awards: Kory Enneking was awarded the Southern Florida Chapter of the Explorers Club Inc. Grant for his work on coral spawning in the Bahamas. Congratulations, Kory!
Awards: March 30, 2018: Congrats to the REEF lab for their excellent presentations at Benthic Ecology Meeeting. REEFers Kelly Pitts and Megan Bock won best student presentations for their talks, and Hannah Nylander-Asplin and Kory Enneking won the people's choice awards for their presentations- well done!
During the 2018 science fair, REEF Lab member Leah Harper mentored a high school student in a project investigating the effects of ocean warming and a pollution on the fertilization success of sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus.
2017
Awards: The REEF lab partners with Norwegian Cruise Lines to establish a coral nursery and coral recruitment research off Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.
Awards: Lab Member Murphy McDonald received a Lab Assistant job working with the Biological Science Department at Nova Southeastern University. She will be assisting in teaching the Marine Biology course for undergraduate students.
Research, September 2017: Kelly Habicht heads to Carrie Bow Cay Field Station to conduct her thesis research investigating the effects of ocean warming and acidification on the early life history stages of Orbicella faveolata.
Research, August 2017: Dr. Nicole Fogarty, along with lab members Leah Harper, Alicia Vollmer, Kelly Habicht, Megan Bock, and Morgan Hightshoe head to Belize to conduct coral spawning research. Leah and Morgan work near Laughing Bird Island while Dr. Fogarty, Alicia, Kelly and Megan worked from Carrie Bow Cay Field Station.
The REEF Lab welcomes Kory Enneking and Murphy McDonald to the team! Kory and Murphy started their first semester at Nova Southeastern University during the Summer (2017) and are pursuing their Master's in Marine Biology.
Research, July 2017: Graduate student Hannah Nylander-Asplin heads to the US Virgin Island with a team of scientists from NOAA to collect coral samples around St. Thomas and St. John. The team also worked near Buck Island National Marine Sanctuary in St. Croix to tag queen conch and deploy acoustic receivers.
Research, July 2017: Graduate student Morgan Hightshoe completes a 2 week study investigating disease transmission in the Florida Keys.
Outreach: Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer speak to REU students in Hopkins, Belize about current laboratory research associated with the NSF grant, July 9, 2017.
Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize to participate in the Smithsonian monitoring project, July 5-13, 2017.
Award: REEF lab students Alicia Vollmer and Morgan Hightshoe receive 2nd place awards in the annual Shutter Shark photo contest. Alicia Vollmer won 2nd place in the Seascape category while Morgan Hightshoe won 2nd place in the Conservation category, May 2017. Lab member Hannah Nylander-Asplin also won 1st place award in the Seascape category http://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_shuttershark_2017/
Outreach & Award: REEF lab members Megan Bock, Morgan Hightshoe, Leah Harper, and Alicia Vollmer attend the 2017 Association of Marine Laboratories (AMLC) Conference in Merida, Mexico, May 22-26, 2017. Students Megan Bock and Morgan Hightshoe were awarded 2nd and 3rd place for best student presentations at the conference. Student Hannah Nylander-Asplin receives a $1,000 AMLC scholarship. https://nsunews.nova.edu/sharkbytes/
Award: REEF lab students Alicia Vollmer and Hannah Nylander-Asplin receive teaching assistant positions through the Nova Southeastern University's Biological Science Department, May 2017.
Dr. Fogarty and lab members, Morgan Hightshoe and Megan Bock, travel to Carrie Bow Cay Field Station in Belize for disease tolerance experiments, May 8-22, 2017. https://nsunews.nova.edu/sharkbytes/
The REEF lab attends the 2017 Benthic Ecology Meeting in Myrtle Beach, SC, April 12-16, 2017. Dr. Fogarty and graduate students, Megan Bock, Leah Harper, Morgan Hightshoe, Alicia Vollmer, and Anna Jordan present their research findings.
Outreach: Graduate students, Kelly Habicht and Hannah Nylander-Asplin speak at NSU open house about current laboratory research, March 5, 2017.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks about her hybridization research to approximately 160 students at Northeastern High School for the Darwin Day Roadshow, Feb. 15, 2017.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty and colleagues Dr. Kristen Marhaver and Valerie Chamberland present a "Coral spawning and larval propagation" webinar for the first Caribbean Coral Restoration Webinar Series, Feb. 8, 2017.
Outreach: Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer speak to visiting P.A.C.E members about current laboratory research, Feb. 3, 2017.
Graduate students Leah Harper and Alicia Vollmer travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize to participate in the Smithsonian monitoring project, Jan. 16-26, 2017.
2016
Dr. Fogarty and graduate students Hunter Noren, Morgan Hightshoe, and Megan Bock travel to the Smithsonian Carrie Bow Cay Research station in Belize for NSF coral hybridization and disease work, Aug. 17-Sept. 1, 2016.
Graduate student Alicia Vollmer travels to the Florida Keys for coral spawning with the Coral Restoration Foundation.
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Steven Miller, and graduate assistant, Morgan Hightshoe.
Award: NSU Fishing Tournament Scholarship awarded to graduate assistant, Megan Bock. Project title: Disease and thermal tolerance in the threatened coral, Acropora cervicornis (2016-2018).
Outreach: Graduate student Megan Bock attends Guy Harvey Outpost Fishing Tournament to speak about proposed research.
Award: Florida Department of Environmental Protection contract Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Esther Peters, and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer on a comprehensive conditions assessment.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty, Morgan Hightshoe, and Leah Harper speak about current laboratory research at South Broward Highschool.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty holds Q&A during the Changing Seas, “Speaking Sustainability” series at the Deering Estates.
Award: The Nature Conservancy contract Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Hunter Noren for Acropora cervicornis genotyping.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
2015
Award: Dr. Fogarty and collaborators Dr. Iliana Baums and Dr. Webb Miller awarded $1.1 million National Science Foundation grant to study coral hybridization.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty serves as Keynote speaker at the Frost Museum Underwater Festival.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistants, Alicia Vollmer and Margaret Rushmore.
Award: AMLC travel grant awarded to graduate student Ashley Dungan.
Award: Women in Fishing Grant awarded to graduate student Margaret Rushmore.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
Award: SEEC travel grant awarded to graduate student Justin Voss.
2014
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer.
Award: Shell Foundation Grant awarded to graduate student, Margaret Rushmore.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty speaks at South Broward High School STEM workshop.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Alicia Vollmer.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty serves on the scientific panel at the Beneath the Waves Film Festival in Miami.
Award: Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reef Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Ashley Dungan.
Award: Lerner-Gray Foundation Grant awarded to graduate student, Justin Voss.
Award: MIASF scholarship awarded to graduate student Charlie Gandia.
Award: Silva student grant from the International Phycological Society awarded to graduate student Justin Voss.
Award: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Rob Ruzicka, Dr. Danny Gleason, and graduate assistant, Leah Harper.
2013
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Kellie Pelikan.
Award: NSU Presidential Faculty Research and Development Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty and graduate assistant, Joshua Stocker.
Award: Florida State Wildlife Grant awarded to Dr. Fogarty, Dr. Jose Lopez, Dr. Don Levitan, and graduate assistant, Hunter Noren.
Outreach: Dr. Fogarty films Changing Seas Series documentary "Coral Hybrids" produced by the Miami public broadcast system WPBT.
University of North Carolina @ Wilmington | Center for Marine Science
5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln | Wilmington, NC 28409 United States
Nicole Fogarty | (910) 962-2301 | fogartyn@uncw.edu