Dr. Bernhard Riegl
Professor
Email: "Bernhard Riegl" <rieglb barney nova fred edu>
Web site: www.nova.edu/ocean/ncri

Teaching
OCMB 7015 Coral Reef Geology and Evolution (graduate) Class resources
(CZMT-0688/MEVS-5250/OCMB-6323) Community Ecology: Patterns and Processes (graduate)
OCOR 5604 DE1 Marine Geology (distance)

Research
Coral Reef geology, ecology and paleontology, landscape ecology, remote sensing and hydrographic survey

Dr. Bernhard Riegl is professor at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. He is the associate director of the National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI). He received the MSc degree from the University of Vienna (Austria) and the PhD degree from the University of Cape Town (South Africa). He also received the habilitation at Karl-Franzens-University Graz (Austria). He is Geology editor of the international scientific journal Coral Reefs, and editor of the book series Coral Reefs of the World.

Dr. Riegl's research centers on coral reefs and other tropical benthic biota, such as seagrass and algae. He is both a biologist and geologist, his research and publications have involved the paleontology, sedimentology, spatial dynamics, ecology, taxonomy and conservation biology of coral reefs and associated organisms. He is also active in hydrographic survey, particularly sonar-based seafloor discrimination, which he integrates with optical remote-sensing to provide high-resolution maps of the seafloor. His research has taken place in the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean, South Pacific, Eastern Pacific, tropical Atlantic and Caribbean.

Riegl held grants from the Austrian Science Foundation, the South African Foundation for Research Development, the South African Association for Marine Biological Research, NOAA, the US Navy, the WWF, the Austrian Geological Survey, the US Geological Survey and many other local and international agencies. He is author of numerous scientific publications and technical reports for various agencies and companies. He has served as Commission of the European Community and USAID technical advisor in the environmental departments of several Middle Eastern governments and has played an active role in the development of coastal zone management, conservation strategies for coral reefs and environmental legislation.


Examples of Student Research Topics
  • Ryan Moyer: "Macrobenthic spatial patterns and community structure on the Broward County (Florida, USA) reefs"
  • Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar: "Effects of nutrient enrichment and elevated CO2 partial pressure on growth rate of the zooxanthellate coral Acropora cervicornis"
  • Michelle Cho: "Sustainable development of coral reefs and related resources in Southeast Asia"
  • Jennifer Keck: "Changes in coral populations on the northwest coast of Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras, subsequent to 1998 bleaching event and Hurricane Mitch"
  • Jessica Craft: "Reef macrobenthos adjacent to a major navigational inlet: Port Everglades, Florida"
  • Aya Shinohara: "Competition among juvenile Acropora on shallow reefs, Okinawa, Japan
  • Kristy Foster: "Effects of sedimentation and turbidity on zooxanthellae in Montastrea cavernosa"
  • Gregory Foster: "Synergy of stressors and their effect on coral physiology: sedimentation and heat"
  • Luz Raquel Hernadez-Cruz: "A optical remote-sensing evaluation of Acropora palmata population status in Vieques, Puerto Rico"
  • Camilla Floros: "Bleaching and plochaete loading of coral at Sodwana Bay", University of Natal
  • Murat Greiss: "Taphonomic pathways in branching coral skeletons after a mass mortality in the Arabian Gulf", Karl-Franzens-University Graz
  • Steffen Hetzinger: "Acoustic mapping and sedimentology of recent non-tropical carbonates in the Isla San Jose area, southwestern Gulf of California, Mexico", University of Stuttgart
  • Markus Eisele: "Akustische Kartierung und Sedimentologie von rezenten gemischt-karbonatisch-siliziklastischen aussertropischen Karbonatmilieus bei Punta Chivato im suedlichen Golf von Kalifornien", University of Stuttgart
  • Marcel Strasser: "Akustische Kartierung und Sedimentologie im noerdlichen Golf von Kalifornien, Mexico, mit besonderer Betrachtung von Bryozoenvergesellschaftung", Universtity of Stuugart
  • Jessica Brouwmeester: "Ecosystem services of coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Egypt: does damage by divers modify their ecological or economic value and utilization?" Universite de Lausanne



Selected Publications (Complete publication list)


Riegl B, Bruckner A, Coles S, Renaud P, Dodge RE (2009) Coral Reefs - Threats and conservation in an era of global change. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1162: 136-186.

Riegl B, Purkis SJ, Keck J, Rowlands GP (2009) Monitored and modeled coral population dynamics and the refuge concept. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58:24-38.

Glynn PW, Riegl B, Romanski AM, Baums IM (2009) Rapid recovery of a coral reef on Darwin Island. Galapagos Research 66: 6-16.

Riegl B, Purkis SJ (2009) Model of coral population response to accelerated bleaching and mass mortality in a changing climate. Ecological Modelling 220: 192-208.

Riegl B, Purkis SJ (2009) Markov models for linking facies in space and time (Arabian Gulf, Miocene Paratethys) in: Swart P, McKenzie J (eds) Perspectives in Sedimentary Geology: A Tribute to the Career of Robert Nathan Ginsburg, International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication 40, 337-360

Baker AC, Glynn PW, Riegl B (2008) Climate change and coral reef bleaching: an ecological assessment of long-term impacts, recovery trends and future outlook. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 80:435-471

Rowlands G, Purkis SJ, Riegl B (2008) The 2005 coral-bleaching event Roatan (Honduras): Use of pseudo-invariant features (PIFs) in satellite assessments. Journal of Spatial Science 53(1): 99-113

Purkis SJ, Graham NAJ, Riegl B (2008) Predictability of reef fish diversity and abundance using remote sensing data in Diego Garcia (Chagos Archipelago). Coral Reefs 27:167-178

Glynn PW, Wellington GM, Riegl B, Olson DB, Bornemann E, Wieters EA (2007) Diversity and biogeography of the scleractinian coral fauna of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Pacific Science 61(1): 67-90.

Riegl B, Halfar J, Purkis SJ, Godinez-Orta L (2007) Sedimentary facies of the Eastern Pacific's northernmost reef-like setting (Cabo Pulmo, Mexico). Marine Geology 236: 61-77.