Video: Researcher Studies Warming Oceans' Effects on Coral Reef Life

Iliana Baums and her research collaborators observe and take samples of coral during their underwater research work.

Iliana Baums, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State, dons scuba gear for work. She studies coral reef ecosystems, the "forests of the oceans," diverse habitats that are vital to many species of ocean life. Warming ocean temperatures disrupt that ecosystem and cause episodes of coral bleaching, which, over time, can kill coral and the life supported by it.