Guest Lecture Recap: Coral Cell Biology in Dr. Geiger’s Tropical Ecology Class

I spent an afternoon with Dr. John Geiger’s Tropical Ecology class to share what our lab and nonprofit are building around coral cell and molecular biology. Different room, same mission. Show the real work, keep it clear, and leave students with a next step they can take this week.

What we covered

• Symbiosis 101: How coral hosts and their algal partners share space and energy. We walked through the cell basics, from membrane transport to signaling, and why tiny changes can scale up to reef level outcomes.

• Light as a driver: How PAR and UVR shape coral physiology. We discussed light spectra, dose, and duration, and how stress shows up as oxidative signals long before bleaching reaches the eye.

• Photoprotection: A quick tour of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), reactive oxygen species assays, and the simple controls that keep data honest.

• From bench to field: Why clean methods matter. Pipettes, incubations, light curves, but also checklists for field days and the habit of writing one-page methods that others can reuse.

Project snapshots

• Cell stress toolkit: Small assays students can run to detect early stress signals in symbiotic cells.

• PAR:UVR ratio trials: How adjusting the light balance changes growth, pigment, and protection, with tidy datasets students can analyze.

• Community link: Outreach pieces that turn complex lab ideas into simple classroom visuals and short demos.

The questions that stuck

• Can reefs adapt fast enough? We talked about heat tolerance, local water quality, and why timing matters.

• Where do beginners start? Email three labs, show up on time, finish a small task well, and keep a simple portfolio.

• How do you balance research with action? Ship small, useful outputs. Share methods, not just headlines.

Why we show up

The class is a perfect bridge between theory and practice. Students in tropical ecology already think in systems. A one hour visit lets us map those ideas to the cell scale and then back out to reefs, fisheries, and coastlines.

Get involved

• Students: Join a cleanup, help test a mini protocol, or pitch a micro project. Small, finished work moves the needle.

• Faculty: If you want a hands-on demo or a short module tied to your course, reach out.

• Everyone: If you write, film, code, or design, there is a space for you.

Thanks to Dr. Geiger and the students for the welcome and the honest questions. If you want the slide deck, the methods one-pagers, or a simple dataset to practice on, email projectanchordown@gmail.com with the subject line Tropical Ecology Follow Up. We will share materials and point you to the next step.