Susana Enriquez

I’m a marine ecophysiologist focused on the functional biology of corals, seagrasses, and algae with the aim to understand how their contrasting metabolic rates and efficiencies in light capture, photosynthetic performance, and ability to calcify can explain their differential responses and tolerance limits, as well as phenotypic changes in their organismal structure and changes in community composition. Through investigating light absorption, photochemical and photosynthetic efficiency, quantum efficiency, photoprotection, photodamage, and the energetic costs associated with maintaining and repairing the photosynthetic apparatus, I study the mechanisms by which photosynthetic organisms absorb, use, and dissipate the underwater light. As a large fraction of them have the ability to calcify, my work also examines how photosynthesis and respiration interact with calcification and how these processes respond to changes in irradiance, temperature, pH, hydrodynamics, and nutrient availability. In collaboration with Prof. Roberto Iglesias-Prieto, we have developed an integrative bio-optical approach, PUES, that connects processes ranging from molecular changes in light harvesting to changes in morphology, abundance, community composition, and habitat condition. This framework is particularly useful for elucidating how reef organisms diversify along depth-light gradients and why they differ in their competitive abilities and tolerance limits to light and other environmental changes. In the last years, my research has focused on the identification of early changes of habitat degradation using seagrass meadows as bioindicators.

For this specific project, my expertise provides the physiological and optical foundation for translating underwater light exposure into biologically meaningful chemical energy, helping in the characterization of the underwater light field, coral photosynthetic responses, assessment of photorepair costs, and implementation of the PUES framework.

October 2026