- Karl D. Castillo, Ph.D.
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Marine Sciences Department
Growing up along the coast of southern Belize gave me the opportunity to see first hand how coral reef ecosystems have changed over time. I can recall making weekly trips to the reefs with my family and being completely amazed at what I saw. However, just over my short lifetime there have been a profound shift from a more coral dominated system to one dominated by algae. I felt that one way I could contribute is to become directly involved.
I started off by working as the Scientific Research Coordinator for the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE). This is a local NGO in southern Belize. This allowed me to begin to address marine protected areas conservation issues at a local scale. I felt that I could do more if I can receive more training by becoming a marine scientist. To answer this call I attended Southeast Missouri State University where I was awarded a B.S. in Biology and another in Unified Sciences Education. Later, I attended University of South Carolina and joined the Helmuth Lab where I attained and M.S. in Marine Science in 2004 and a Ph.D. also in Marine Science in May 2008. At USC most of my work was centered on the effects temperature on coral reefs in two marine protected areas. I worked specifically in the Port Honduras Marine Reserve and the Sapodilla Caye Marine Reserve both of which are in southern Belize.
In July of 2008 I was awarded the Carolina Posdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty diversity at UNC Chapel Hill. This is offered through the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development. I will be working with Dr. John Bruno and Dr. Justin Ries to develop experiments that will allow us to examine the effects of pH, aragonite concentration, and temperature on calcification rates, recruitment, and growth rates.
I am also particularly interested in the education and outreach aspects of marine science. I volunteered regularly in various capacities to try to get the word out in regards to the changes we are observing in the marine environment. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss these issues in further detail.
