Working together to ensure a future for coral reefs
This was the motto of the International Coral Reef Symposium (#ICRS2026), held in Auckland, New Zealand, bringing together 2,100 reef scientists, conservationists, managers, and policymakers from over 90 countries.
Researchers from iBB and DBE, Matilde Marques, Joana Couceiro, and Tina Keller-Costa, participated in the meeting, each giving an oral presentation on their coral microbiome research.
Matilde showcased how coral fungal diseases worsen as ocean temperatures rise. Joana showed spatial imaging data revealing the localization of unculturable bacterial symbionts within coral tissues and presented also a poster on expanding the cultivable fraction of coral-associated bacteria and exploring their secondary metabolism. Tina discussed the current state and future directions for octocoral microbiome research and co-chaired a session on the functional plasticity of Endozoicomonadaceae across diverse marine hosts.
🤝A week full of knowledge sharing, world-class science and renewed motivation to work together to ensure a future for coral reefs.