1Q
Photo by Greg McFall
UESTIONS
36 FLORIDA KEYS MARINE SACNTUARY FOUNDATION
Andy Bruckner’s official title is “Research Coordinator,” but those words fall short of describing the comprehensive scope and impact of his work inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. With a doctoral dissertation that focused on understanding the distribution, abundance and impact of a coral disease, and the development of methods to eradicate it, Bruckner is uniquely qualified to be called our chief scientist. 1. You have worked all over the world. Why did you want to come to the Keys? I was very fortunate to develop and lead a Global Reef Expedition. The intent of this was to map and characterize reefs around the world, evaluate their condition and work with local and national agencies in each country on adaptive management approaches. The hands-on experience conducting field surveys, research and restoration provided me with a firsthand knowledge of strategies that have worked to mitigate stressors and restore reefs. By gaining this understanding, I wanted to apply lessons learned to Florida, where reefs have been severely degraded. There is an extensive network of partners who are serious about reversing these trends, and the sanctuary has adopted a new philosophy that I believe is the key to successful restoration. My interest is to
