Josh Idjadi

research scientist, New England Aquarium

Since the time he was a snorkeling teenager Josh Idjadi has been hooked on the marine environment. Getting his Scuba certification in 1996 let him get even closer to the underwater creatures in which he was interested. 13 years later Idjadi is a community ecologist working on a variety of coral reef research projects. Much of his work has focused on the role of corals in providing habitat for other reef-dwelling organisms and the importance of algae-eating urchins in maintaining coral-dominated reefs. His PhD research at the University of Delaware examined the potential ecological causes of the incredible species diversity we observe on coral reefs. His research sites have included Jamaica, Australia, and Moorea in French Polynesia, which provide a variety of coral species to study, not to mention some great underwater views.