Garrett Fundakowski

History

• PhD candidate in Biology (2020-present), University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
• BSc in Mathematics and Biology (2012-2016), University of Richmond, VA, USA

Research

Broadly speaking, my interests are in coral reef ecology, reef restoration, and the use of innovative technology in marine ecosystems. Specifically, the objective of my PhD research is to identify and quantify patterns of niche construction in corals. I will attempt to address this by focusing on the physical structure that corals create and the effects of this structure on the size and shape of other corals. To quantify coral morphology, I will utilize photogrammetry and laser scanning technology to create 3D reconstructions of living coral structure. Through observational studies, I will look at how coral morphological phenotype develops over time and the influence of the surrounding reefscape, including the presence and shape of neighboring coral colonies, on coral growth. Then through a manipulative experiment, I will examine if and how this morphological phenotype is ecologically inherited. Together, by determining the extent to which corals physically change the reefscape by building their 3D structure and how that structure affects nearby corals, I hope to add to mounting evidence for the role of corals as niche constructors. I am based at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where I am supervised primarily by Dr Maria Dornelas and Dr Kevin Laland. I am also supervised by Dr Pim Edelaar from University Pablo de Olavide and Dr Joshua Madin from the University of Hawai’i Manoa.

Fun fact

I’m afraid of butterflies.