Hannah Epstein
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hannah-eps.bsky.social
Hannah Epstein
@hannah-eps.bsky.social
Coral reef microbial ecologist and shameless invertebrate enthusiast | Marine Conservation Manager at Oregon Shores | Honorary Lecturer (Asst Prof) in Marine Biology at the University of Essex | Views my own

🔗www.hannah-epstein.com
As a marine biologist I never thought I’d care so much about bird poop, but here we are! This was such a fun paper to write with a truly amazing group of co authors! Check it out in Holly’s post below🪶
I am very excited to share that we have a new paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com

In it, we summarize the state of knowledge on the Circular Seabird Economy!

1/n 🧪
Link to paper here: rdcu.be/eMOUd
October 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
How do seabirds shape nutrient patterns in coral reef lagoons? 🐥🌊 🪸Our new Ecography paper combines field data + remote sensing to show how enrichment varies with seabird biomass, depth, distance to land, and seafloor curvature in a recovering atoll. Check it out: doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
Seascape configuration determines spatial patterns of seabird‐vectored nutrient enrichment to coral reefs
Pelagic-feeding seabirds deliver nutrient subsidies that enhance the productivity, biodiversity, and resilience of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, particularly in nutrient-poor tropical environmen...
doi.org
July 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
📣 JOB ALERT📣
The Silbiger Lab is hiring a full time research tech @ University of Hawai’i at Mānoa to support research on intertidal ecology in Hawai’i & coral reef/coastal oceanography in Okinawa, Japan. RCUH ID: 225085 application link below. 1 year to start, but have several years of funding.
February 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
🐠🧪🎓 New position alert: I am looking for a full-time research technician to work on my NSF CAREER project. Perks:

✅ SCUBA-based fieldwork in Belize 🤿
✅ Chemistry labwork 🧪
✅ Lots of fish and fun(ctions) 🐠📈😀

Deadline: Feb 21st

utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UTstaff/job/...

Please share widely.
January 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
Big paper drop by @reefjav.bsky.social !
Reef fish communities are undergoing substantial change on the Great Barrier Reef, with latitude and through time. Changing coral composition, not simply coral cover, a major driver. @lec-reefs.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Emergent patterns of reef fish diversity correlate with coral assemblage shifts along the Great Barrier Reef - Nature Communications
Coral reefs have been severely affected by anthropogenic stress. Using long term data from the Great Barrier Reef, this study found temporal changes in the latitudinal diversity gradient, and stronger...
www.nature.com
January 13, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
First preprint in 2025:
Metatranscriptomics sheds light on who is doing what in a Coral

Great collaboration led by Kshitij Tandon Heroen Verbruggen and his team, Francesco Ricci Linda Blackall, @momedinamunoz.bsky.social

@moorefound.bsky.social
Australian Research Council

doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Metatranscriptomics sheds light on 'who is doing what' in the coral Porites lutea
Global decline of coral reefs due to climate change calls for effective, nature-based strategies to protect these crucial ecosystems. Developing such strategies requires a thorough understanding of th...
doi.org
January 11, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
Check out our new paper!

We compare indicators for monitoring the impacts of island restoration on coral reefs. Massive thanks to our huge list of collaborators, which enabled us to look at seabirds, nutrients, microbes, algae, corals, and fish! 🐦🦠🌱🪸🐠

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
A bit late but excited to share our new paper exploring how seabird nutrient inputs influence mangrove food webs! 🐦🌿 @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social @lec-reefs.bsky.social @iomarinescience.bsky.social
Open access: esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
January 5, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Hannah Epstein
Still hope for coral reefs. Using 28-years of data in Seychelles, we find reefs recovering 4-5 years faster from the 2016 bleaching event, than they did after 1998. Also, a reef that had regime-shifted to macroalgae for over 15 years, is recovering to coral.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Increased resilience and a regime shift reversal through repeat mass coral bleaching
Assessing coral reefs across the inner Seychelles islands, using a 28-year dataset, we document faster coral recovery from the 2016 than the 1998 marine heatwave events. Further, a reef that had regi....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 2, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Another 🚨 new paper alert! We found some of the first evidence of a microbially-mediated life history tradeoff in tropical corals driven by dominance of our fave bacterial symbiont, Endozoicomonas! Read more about it here: animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Evidence for microbially-mediated tradeoffs between growth and defense throughout coral evolution - Animal Microbiome
Background Evolutionary tradeoffs between life-history strategies are important in animal evolution. Because microbes can influence multiple aspects of host physiology, including growth rate and susce...
animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com
January 4, 2025 at 5:10 AM
🚨New paper alert! With an amazing group of collaborators, we explore potential indicators for assessing the impacts of island restoration on nearshore tropical marine ecosystems (plus it's my first senior author paper - a mini milestone!). Check it out here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Re-connecting ecosystems: Integrating coral reefs into monitoring of island restoration
Ecosystems are intrinsically linked, such that management actions in one ecosystem can influence adjacent ecosystems. However, adequate data, and even…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 3, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Finally made the jump! Came for the vibes, staying for the science 🧪
November 24, 2024 at 9:48 AM