Unlock a world of benefits

  • Access to all scientific presentations and panel discussions
  • Networking opportunities with speakers and Nature editors
  • Attend poster sessions showcasing cutting-edge research
  • Connect with peers and foster connections and collaborations
  • Receive conference resources, including but not limited to e-program book
  • Meals and refreshments included, as noted on the conference program (all dietary preferences covered)
  • Showcase your research and elevate your profile by presenting an abstract

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Agenda

Check back here for more confirmed speakers and updates to our Agenda!


Times are displayed in +03

  • Available On Demand

    DAY 1: Saturday, February 14

    8:00 - 8:45 a.m.
    Registration check-in and Breakfast

    8:45 - 9:00 a.m.
    Welcome Remarks

  • Available On Demand

    Keynote Talk

    9:00 - 9:50 a.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session I: Knowledge status and drivers of decline: From microbes to the holobiont

    9:50 - 12:35 p.m.

    9:50 - 10:15 a.m. Invited Talk
    10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Invited Talk

    10:40 - 11:30 a.m. Coffee break

    11:30 - 11:55 a.m. Invited Talk
    11:55 - 12:20 p.m. Invited Talk

    12:20 - 12:35 p.m. SHORT TALK - Short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts

  • Available On Demand

    Lunch

    12:35 - 2:00 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session II: Connecting to coastal ecosystems and services

    2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

    2:00 - 2:25 p.m. Invited Talk
    2:25 - 2:50 p.m. Invited Talk
    2:50 - 3:15 p.m. Invited Talk

  • Available On Demand

    Session II: Connecting to coastal ecosystems and services (cont'd)

    4:15 - 5:30 p.m.

    4:15 - 4:40 p.m. Invited Talk
    4:40 - 5:15 p.m. Invited Talk

    5:15 - 5:30 p.m. SHORT TALK - Short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts

  • Available On Demand

    Poster Session & Coffee Break

    3:15 - 4:15 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    DAY 2: Sunday, February 15

    8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
    Registration check-in and Breakfast

  • Available On Demand

    Keynote Talk

    9:00 - 9:50 a.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session III: Monitoring and predicting

    9:50 - 12:35 p.m.

    9:50 - 10:15 a.m. Invited Talk
    10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Invited Talk

    10:40 - 11:30 a.m. Coffee break

    11:30 - 11:55 a.m. Invited Talk
    11:55 - 12:20 p.m. Invited Talk

    12:20 - 12:35 p.m. SHORT TALK - Short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts

  • Available On Demand

    Lunch

    12:35 - 2:00 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Keynote Talk

    2:00 - 2:50 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session IV: Restoration and resilience

    2:50 - 3:40 p.m.

    2:50 - 3:15 p.m. Invited Talk
    3:15 - 3:40 p.m. Invited Talk

    3:40 - 4:00 p.m. Coffee Break

  • Available On Demand

    Meet the Editors Session

    4:00 - 4:45 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session IV: Restoration and resilience (cont'd)

    4:45 - 5:50 p.m.

    4:45 - 5:10 p.m. Invited Talk
    5:10 - 5:35 p.m. Invited Talk

    5:35 - 5:50 p.m. SHORT TALK - Short talks will be selected from submitted abstracts

  • Available On Demand

    DAY 2: Monday, February 16

    8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
    Registration check-in and Breakfast

  • Available On Demand

    Keynote Talk

    9:00 - 9:50 a.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Session V: Conservation, governance and One Health

    9:50 - 12:30 p.m.

    9:50 - 10:15 a.m. Invited Talk
    10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Invited Talk

    10:40 - 11:30 a.m. Coffee break

    11:30 - 11:55 a.m. Invited Talk
    11:55 - 12:30 p.m. Closing Talk

  • Available On Demand

    Panel Discussion

    12:30 - 1:15 p.m.
    Panel Discussion featuring the conference Keynote Speakers

  • Available On Demand

    Closing Remarks

    1:15 - 1:30 p.m.

  • Available On Demand

    Confirmed Speakers


    Andrea Grottoli
    Andrea Grottoli The Ohio State University, USA
    Carlos Duarte
    Carlos Duarte King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

    Carlos M. Duarte (Lisbon, 1960) is the CEO of the Global Coral R&D Accelerator Platform.  Duarte’s research addresses the effects of global change on marine ecosystems and the development of ocean-based solutions to global challenges. He developed evidence-based strategies to rebuild the abundance of marine life by 2050, and leads efforts to solve the coral reef crisis. Building on his research showing mangroves, seagrasses and salt-marshes to be globally-relevant carbon sinks, he developed, working with different UN agencies, the concept of Blue Carbon as a nature-based solution to climate change. His research, across all oceans, depths, organisms and ecosystem types, has led to more than 1.100 scientific papers. Duarte is ranked as the top marine biologist and the 12th most influential climate scientist worldwide (Reuters), and has received multiple accolades. On April 16 2025, he was presented by the Emperor of Japan with the Japan Prize 2025 for his “contribution to our understanding of marine ecosystem in a changing earth, especially through pioneering research on Blue Carbon”. He serves as Chief Scientist at E1 and is heavily involved with sustainability in sports.

    More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_M._Duarte 

    David Obura
    David Obura CORDIO East Africa, Kenya

    David Obura chairs the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and is Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa. After 30 years of research on coral reef vulnerability to climate change and their importance to society, his focus is now on linking local to global challenges to help society pivot towards a safe and just future.

    David Suggett
    David Suggett KAUST, Saudi Arabia

    Professor David Suggett is Director for the KAUST Coral Restoration Initiative (KCRI) at Shushah Island, Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest reef restoration effort – and a Professor in Practice at KAUST. He is a world leading expert in coral biology and how corals shape the functioning of reef systems, from scales spanning coral reef microbes to human-ecological interactions. Prior to moving to KAUST in 2023, he was a Professor at University of Technology Sydney, where he established and led the "Future Reefs" Program, Australia's largest team dedicated to unlocking how the environment and climate change influence corals of the Great Barrier Reef – a major focus of which was developing and applying novel technologies for resolving how corals function. This work led to a world-first partnership between researchers and tourism (the largest economic asset to the Great Barrier Reef) to restore degraded sites at scale, the "Coral Nurture Program", which he co-founded and led for 4 years. Work through the Coral Nurture Program has led to innovative methods to propagate and plant coral for reef restoration, and in recognition as a global model for successful targeted reef restoration, become an official Actor for the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration in 2022. He has contributed to numerous international committees and workshops for studying and conserving coral reefs, and has served the Coral Restoration Consortium - the international body dedicated to advancing knowledge on reef restoration – in several capacities since 2020. He has been a leading advocate for restoration activities as effective tools within wider reef management frameworks, and where his current role positions global efforts to develop and deploy innovations needed to transform restoration cost-efficiencies and scalability.

    Gareth Williams
    Gareth Williams Bangor University, UK

    Gareth Williams is Professor of Marine Biology and Director of Research Impact at Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences, UK. His work focuses on the effects of local and global human impacts and biophysical gradients on coral reefs across multiple trophic levels (microbes to sharks) and scales (individual reefs to entire ocean basins). Much of his work incorporates remote coral reefs free from direct local human impacts, providing key replication at the unimpacted end of an intact-to-degraded ecosystem spectrum. By surveying across extensive geographical areas, his research group address broad questions pertaining to: 1. the human and biophysical drivers of coral reef ecosystem structure and function, 2. climate change impacts to coral reef ecosystems, and 3. the spatial ecology of coral reefs. His recent works have highlighted the impacts of global warming and local human pressures on reef structure and function, the importance of coupled land-sea policies (like wastewater management and fisheries governance) for supporting reef persistence under climate change, and the need to better quantify ocean-reef connections to improve our models and predictions of reef futures.

    Raquel Peixoto
    Raquel Peixoto King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
    Prof. Peixoto is a pioneer on the development of probiotics for corals. Her research has outlined the protocols and proved the concept that the use of coral probiotics can increase the host’s resilience and resistance against environmental threats. This pioneering work has contributed to pave the way for new approaches to reveal and explore mechanisms of marine microbiology and symbiotic interactions. Her research addresses the diversity, ecological role and biotechnological potential of microorganisms associated with marine organisms. She also seeks to investigate and understand key symbiotic mechanisms promoting the host's resistance and resilience against different impacts, as part of her projects on coral reef protection, restoration and rehabilitation. In addition, as the vice-president (August 2022-2024) and President (2024-2026) of the prestigious International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME), founder and co-chair of the Beneficial Microbes for Marine Organisms network (BMMO), member of the council (and fellow) of the International Coral Reef Society, co-chair of the Coral Conservation Committee for the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the G-20 Coral R&D Accelerator Platform (CORDAP), she promotes collaborative work and contributes on powerful international platforms to promote science-driven solutions to protect coral reefs.