Kai L. Kopecky

This paper develops a workflow combining photogrammetry and machine learning to track demographic changes in coral colonies over time, revealing patterns of survival, mortality, and size structure before, during, and after a marine heatwave.

This study shows heat waves promote coral-to-seaweed shifts by leaving skeletal legacies, while cyclones reverse this by removing structures, demonstrating disturbance type and sequence affect ecosystem resilience.