John Bruno

About

John F Bruno is a marine ecologist and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on marine biodiversity and macroecology, coral reef ecology and conservation, and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. He earned his Ph.D. from Brown University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University specializing in disease ecology. Bruno's lab primarily conducts research in the Galápagos and the Caribbean, including Belize and the Cayman Islands. He actively communicates his work through various platforms, including a recent piece in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times discussing fieldwork and climate change impacts on coral reefs, an op-ed in the Washington Post on coral reef conservation, and a multimedia piece about his team's work in the Galápagos.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Geography
• Environmental science
• Fishery
• Oceanography
• Geology

Selected publications

• Global decline in capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services

  One Earth · 2021 · 639 citations

  DOI

• Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Foundation Species

  Annual Review of Marine Science · 2023 · 232 citations

  Marine foundation species are the biotic basis for many of the world's coastal ecosystems, providing structural habitat, food, and protection for myriad plants and animals as well as many ecosystem services. However, climate change poses a significant threat to foundation species and the ecosystems they support. We review the impacts of climate change on common marine foundation species, including corals, kelps, seagrasses, salt marsh plants, mangroves, and bivalves. It is evident that marine fo…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A century of warming on Caribbean reefs

  PLOS Climate · 2022 · 57 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The world’s oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate, causing dramatic changes to coastal marine systems, especially coral reefs. We used three complementary ocean temperature databases (HadISST, Pathfinder, and OISST) to quantify change in thermal characteristics of Caribbean coral reefs over the last 150 years (1871–2020). These sea surface temperature (SST) databases included in situ and satellite-derived measurements at multiple spatial resolutions. We also compiled a Caribbean coral reef…

  DOI

• Disturbance intensification is altering the trait composition of Caribbean reefs, locking them into a low functioning state

  Scientific Reports · 2023-08-28 · 14 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Anthropogenic climate change is intensifying natural disturbance regimes, which negatively affects some species, while benefiting others. This could alter the trait composition of ecological communities and influence resilience to disturbance. We investigated how the frequency and intensification of the regional storm regime (and likely other disturbances) is altering coral species composition and in turn resistance and recovery. We developed regional databases of coral cover and composition (31…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Taxonomic assessment of blade-forming <i>Ulva</i> species (Ulvales, Chlorophyta) in the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador using DNA sequencing

  Botanica Marina · 2024-02-17 · 9 citations

  article

  Abstract DNA sequences were obtained from 32 blade-forming Ulva specimens collected in 2018 and 2019 from four islands in the Galápagos Archipelago: Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela and San Cristóbal. The loci sequenced were nuclear encoded ITS and plastid encoded rbc L and tuf A, all recognized as barcode markers for green algae. Four species were found, Ulva adhaerens , U. lactuca , U. ohnoi and U. tanneri , all of which have had their type specimens sequenced, ensuring the correct application of…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Cascading effects of predator diversity in a marine food web

  NSF · $350k · 2006–2009

• Collaborative research: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in plant-grazer systems: experimental tests in a marine benthic community

  NSF · $294k · 2003–2006

• Collaborative Research: Origins and Spread of the Aspergillus-Gorgonian Coral Epizootic: Role of Climate and Environmental Facilitators

  NSF · $260k · 2003–2008

Frequent coauthors

• Elizabeth R. Selig

  124 shared

• Benjamin S. Halpern

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  117 shared

• Carrie V. Kappel

  National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

  112 shared

• Dennis Heinemann

  Marine Mammal Commission

  105 shared

• Mark Spalding

  University of Cambridge

  105 shared

• Rod Fujita

  Environmental Defense Fund

  105 shared

• Kenneth S. Casey

  NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

  104 shared

• Helen Fox

  Coral Reef Alliance

  101 shared

Education

• PhD

  Brown University

  2000

Similar researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Robert J. Duronioh-62
• Victoria L. Bautchh-51
• Gregory P. Copenhaverh-49