John Burt

Assistant Professor of Practice of Biology

Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi

Biography

A marine biologist, John Burt uses the Arabian Gulf as a natural laboratory to study coral reef ecology in extreme environments and to understand how these may serve as a model for the possible impacts of future climate change on reefs elsewhere. His current research seeks to examine how coral communities in these extreme environments respond to and recover from mass bleaching events, and how variation in environmental conditions affect biogeographic patterns of community structure of corals, fish, and other reef biota in the region. He also has several post-doctoral researchers studying the molecular biology of corals and their zooxanthellae to understand how corals cope in the uniquely extreme environment of the Gulf. In addition, Burt continues to study the ecological and management implications of coastal developments in urban areas, and seeks to develop more sustainable coastal management practices in the Gulf.

Burt was organizer of the recent Coral Reefs of the Gulf conference (2012) which brought together leading regional and international scientists from 19 different countries who are studying marine systems in the Gulf and surrounding seas and is the co-founder of the Mideast Coral Reef Society which was initiated in 2013.

Earlier, he held a United Nations University fellowship for research on the ecological implications of coastal development, and had served as assistant department chair and taught numerous courses at Zayed University in Dubai. He has supervised undergraduate or graduate research from students at New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE), Universidade do Porto (Portugal), Zayed University (UAE), the American University of Sharjah (UAE), and the University of Nottingham (UK). He currently advises and provides capacity-building to a number of state and national governmental agencies in the Gulf.

Burt collaborates with other science professors at NYU Abu Dhabi to develop the Foundations of Science cross-disciplinary curriculum for science and engineering majors, where he teaches the ecology and biodiversity components, as well as part of the Ideas and Methods of Science curriculum for non-majors, including the courses The Desert: Life in an Arid Environment and Where the City Meets the Sea: Ecological Implications of Coastal Urbanization.

He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and his B.S. from Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Recent Publications

Feary DA, Burt J, Bauman A, Al-Hazeem S, Abdel-Moati M, Al-Khalifa K, Anderson D, Amos C, Baker A, Bartholomew A, Bento R, Cavalcante G, Chen A, Coles S, Dabo K, Fowler A, George D, Grandcourt E, Hill R, John D, Jones D, Keshavmurthy S, Mahmoud H, Tapehu M, Mostafaviv P, Naser H, Pichon M, Purkis S, Riegl B, Samimi-Namin K, Sheppard C, Samiei J, Voolstra C, Wiedenmann J (In Press) Critical research needs for identifying future changes in Persian Gulf coral reef ecosystems. Marine Pollution Bulletin. Accepted 28 Jan. 2013

Hume, B., D’Angelo, C., Burt, J., Baker, A., Riegl, B., Wiedenmann, J. (In Press). Porites lobata from the Persian/Arabian Gulf as a model for heat-stress tolerant corals. Marine Pollution Bulletin. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.11.032

Bauman A, Feary D, Heron S, Pratchett MS, Burt J (2012) Multiple environmental factors influence the spatial distribution and structure of reef communities in the northeastern Arabian Peninsula. Marine Pollution Bulletin DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.10.013.

Burt, J; Al-Khalifa, K. Khalaf, E; AlShuwaikh, B; Abdulwahab, A. (2012). The continuing decline of coral reefs in Bahrain. Marine Pollution Bulletin. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.08.022.

Burt, J., Feary, D., Cavalcante, G., Bauman, A., Usseglio, P., (2012). Urban breakwaters as reef fish habitat in the Persian Gulf. Marine Pollution Bulletin. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.10.019

Pratchett, M. Hoey, A. Feary, D. Bauman, A. Burt, J. Riegl, B. (2012). Functional composition of Chaetodon butterflyfishes at a peripheral and extreme coral reef location, the southern Persian Gulf. Marine Pollution Bulletin. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.10.014

Burt, J., Bartholomew, A., Feary, D. (2012). The ecological role of man-made structures in the Gulf. In: B. Riegl and S. Purkis. Coral Reefs of the Gulf. Springer, NL. Pp 171-186.

D’Angelo, C., E. Smith, F. Oswald, J. Burt, D. Tchernov, and J. Wiedenmann. (2012). Locally accelerated growth is part of the innate immune response and repair mechanisms in reef-building corals as detected by green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like pigments. Coral Reefs DOI: 10.1007/s00338-012-0926-8.

Feary, D.A., Burt, J.A., Cavalcante, G.H., Bauman, A.G. (2012). Extreme physical factors and the structure of Gulf communities. In: B. Riegl and S. Purkis. Coral Reefs of the Gulf. Springer, NL. Pp 163-170.

Burt, Al-Harthi, S., Al-Cibahy, A. (2011). Long-term impacts of bleaching events on the world's warmest reefs. Marine Environmental Research. 72: 225-229.

van Lavieren, H., Burt, J., Feary, D., Cavalcante, G., Marquis, E., Benedetti, L., Trick, C., Kjerfve, B., Sale, P.F., (2011). Managing the growing impacts of development on fragile coastal and marine systems: Lessons from the Gulf. A Policy Report, United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment, and Health. Hamilton, ON, Canada. Pp 1-83

Burt, J., Feary, D., Bauman, A., Usseglio, P., Cavalcante, G., Sale, P. (2011). Biogeographic patterns of reef fish community structure in the northeastern Arabian Peninsula. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 68: 1875-1883.

Feary, D., Burt, J., Bartholomew, A. (2011). Artificial marine habitats in the Arabian Gulf: A review of current use, benefits and management implications. Ocean & Coastal Management. 54:742-749

Hartle-Mougiou, K., D'Angelo, C., Smith, E.G., Burt, J., West, P., Wiedenmann, J. (2011). Diversity of zooxanthellae from corals and sea anemones after long-term aquarium culture. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Accepted July 2011. DOI:10.1017/S0025315411001159.

Burt, J, Bartholomew, A, Sale, P (2011) Benthic development on large-scale artificial reefs: a comparison of communities among breakwaters of different age and natural reefs. Ecological Engineering. 37:191-198.

Sale, PF, Feary, D, Burt, JA, Bauman, A, Cavalcante, G, Drouillard, K, Kjerfve, B, Marquis, E, Trick, C, Usseglio, P, van Lavieren, H (2011) The growing need for sustainable ecological management of marine communities of the Persian Gulf. Ambio. 40: 4-17.