Jason Mirtsopoulos (he/him) is an occupational marine ecologist, vintage outdoor clothing enthusiast, and creative writer.Graduating with a B.Sc. in Marine Sciences from SUNY Stony Brook University, his work includes applying bioinformatics to coral restoration practices, curating and upcycling vintage clothing for resale, fostering safe spaces for productive communication, and distilling complex scientific concepts into accessible ideas through clear, engaging writing.His interests include research, writing, SCUBA, sound production, and everything else the world has to offer.
Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (April 2024 - present)
(1) Analysis of the Effects of Coral Shading and Depth Change on Coral Growth Rate, Coral Bleaching, and Survivorship During the 2024 Bleaching Period
In order to bolster coral reef survivorship in RRFB's coral nurseries during NOAA-forecasted bleaching periods, a trial was designed (cr: Sanne Tuijten) to test the effectiveness of shading (i.e., light attenuation) on the health and survivorship of various boulder coral species and genotypes.My role primarily focuses on the execution of this trial, including the monitoring, collection, organization, analysis, illustration, and presentation of this data.The results of this project are still to be determined.
(2) 2023 Boulder Analysis Report
To better understand the potential for heat and stress-tolerant among Bonaire's boulder coral species, Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire conducted a comparative analysis of the survivorship, bleaching susceptibility, and resilience of all genotypes present in each of Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire's nurseries during the 2023 bleaching event.As the project lead, I developed R scripts to rank and compare genotype performance within and across both of RRFB's boulder coral nursery sites. This work culminated in an authored report, the findings of which have been presented and used to direct restoration efforts internally.
Coral Restoration Foundation (June, 2021 - June 2022)
(1) FKNMS Disease Baseline
In response to upcoming Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary guidelines, CRF was tasked with assessing the prevalence of coral diseases across its largest nurseries in 2022.In collaboration with CRF's science and restoration departments, my role primarily involved restructuring the data collection infrastructure, analyzing annual coral nursery monitoring data, and providing reports to the Director of Restoration. This led to the development of several scripts that generated key metrics, including disease prevalence by species, genotype, nursery, and overall. Additionally, I contributed to a report that analyzed restoration practitioner surveying habits, offering insights into data collection methods.The findings directly influenced CRF’s second-quarter operating and budgeting strategies for 2023, while also enhancing our understanding of the coral species-disease relationship within the Gulf, Caribbean, and surrounding regions. My report on practitioner survey frequency led to positive operational changes for the restoration department. Information from my reports was presented both internally and externally at Reef Futures 2022.
*gitHub and affiliated code is protected by CRF IP
(2) Eastern Dry Rocks Q2 Report
CRF's NOAA mandates the submission of quarterly reports, which detail restoration outcomes and deliverables across designated CRF coral nurseries.As the lead analyst, my responsibility was to conduct an analysis of historical coral nursery health metrics, including Orbicellate fusion rates, survivorship, and Acroporid coral cover (total surface area) alongside survivorship.The results of this deliverable directly lead to CRF receiving its largest annual grant.
*gitHub and affiliated code is protected by CRF IP
Last updated 03/02/25