Ms Ms Ananya Ashok

Unraveling the complex interplays between human activities, ongoing global change, and the ways in which organisms tolerate, respond, and adapt drives my scientific curiosity. In my doctoral research, I study the impacts of oil pollution on the habitats and organisms of three environmentally critical locations: the Arabian Gulf, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and the Red Sea. Specifically, I investigate the bioaccumulation of sensitivity to polyaromatic hydrocarbons that are toxic oil derivatives on corals, microalgae, and oligotrophic marine microbial communities. I have also been involved in research looking at the immediate effects of oil spills such as rapid degradation under the influence of high temperatures and solar radiation. I am also interested in investigating the thermal tolerance thresholds of symbiotic microalgae ex hospite and in situ in corals.