Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant graduate scholar Paolo Marra-Biggs presented a portion of his dissertation research at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), held in July 2022 in Bremen, Germany.

Marra-Biggs, who is enrolled in the marine biology master’s program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, participated in the symposium’s poster session, where he presented his project titled, “A Comparative Phylogenetic Investigation of Tridacninae: a Mitochondrial vs Nuclear Analysis”. He shared his examination of the discordance between the taxonomic relationships within giant clam (subfamily Tridacninae).

“ICRS was a phenomenal venue to speak with inspiring scientists across a diverse set of research interests to gain feedback on my project, and to get inspired onto so many projects that I had no previous knowledge of. It was a great experience to meet so many esteemed scientists from around the world and get to know them beyond their publications,” Marra-Biggs said.

This year’s ICRS gathered more than 1,000 coral reef scientists from 78 countries around the world to share their research and participate in discussions of coral reef genetics, restoration methods, outreach strategies, and model applications. The symposium saw 620 in-person presentations, 171 posters, and dozens more presenting virtually.