Rate My Professor David Abrego

Dr David Abrego is a marine ecologist and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University, based at the National Marine Science Centre and a member of the Reefs and Oceans research cluster. He earned his BSc in Aquatic Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1998, an MAppSci in Marine Biology from James Cook University in 2005, and a PhD in Marine Biology from James Cook University in 2009. Abrego's career includes serving as Associate Professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi from 2013 to 2017, where he developed and led a three-year coral reef restoration research program in collaboration with the Government Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi. At Southern Cross University, he has taught and designed educational units at the National Marine Science Centre and coordinated the Bachelor of Science course, including four specialisations and three majors. He holds a joint appointment with the Australian Museum.

Abrego's academic interests center on coral reef ecology, climate change adaptation, coral reef restoration, coral reproduction, coral-microalgal symbioses, thermal tolerance, and coral settlement and recruitment. His research examines early life history processes in corals, including recruitment, settlement, and symbioses establishment, alongside tolerance to environmental stresses and adaptation to warming oceans. Employing methods such as genetics, photo-physiology, chemistry, husbandry, and selective breeding, he leads field and laboratory studies across the Indo-Pacific region, encompassing sites in Australia, Japan, and the Persian Gulf. Current projects investigate strategies to enhance coral-microalgal symbioses for reef recovery and characterize corals in marginal environments to predict climate change impacts. As Science Lead within the Coral Aquaculture and Deployment and Enhanced Corals and Treatments Subprograms of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, his work supports conservation decisions and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Abrego is Co-Director of the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station alongside Dr Emily Howells, overseeing operations and implementing new programs in science, education, and outreach. He serves on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports and is a member of the International Coral Reef Society and the Australian Coral Reef Society. Abrego has authored 37 peer-reviewed publications, including "Sequencing and de novo analysis of a coral larval transcriptome using 454 GS-FLX sequencing technology" (2009), "Enhancing the heat tolerance of reef-building corals to future ocean warming" (2021), and "Variability in Fitness Trade-Offs Amongst Coral Juveniles With Differing Heat Tolerance Backgrounds" (2021).