Joao Gabriel Duarte Rosado

Biography

João Gabriel Duarte Rosado is a marine biologist dedicated to reef ecology, monitoring, and restoration. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where João was interested in everything related to the ocean from a very young age. Since then, he has initiated his career in marine science and conservation. He later received his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and an M.Sc. in Marine Sciences from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he concluded his thesis "The Red Sea Coral Reef Cryptobiome: How do Nearby Benthic Communities Influence the Biodiversity of the Hidden Majority?". João is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Red Sea Research Center, KAUST, working on "Revitalizing Reef Biodiversity: Investigating Cryptobenthic Succession and Alternative Nature-Based Solutions for Coral Reef Rehabilitation." His work is co-supervised by Professors Michael Berumen and Susana Carvalho. His research addresses innovative reef restoration and resilience strategies, particularly in coral reefs.

Other topics of interest under his scope of research are the monitoring of reef biodiversity enhancement of coral and reef health, environmental microbiology, and reef restoration. João has comprehensive field experience in biodiversity surveys, mesocosm experiments, eDNA sampling, Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures metabarcoding and incubations, and innovative reef restoration strategies. He is very enthusiastic about bringing the professional expertise he has gained to develop feasible, sustainable solutions to be implemented into practice in marine conservation on a global scale. João is also a scientific diving member of the AAUS international community. He is an author of publications in high-impact journals and communicates his research findings through numerous presentations at international conferences.

Research Interests

In my research, I consider some of the critical parameters within the ecosystem related to species diversity and abundance and their relationship with the functioning of the reef as an entity. My research intends to guide effective management and conservation activities in the Kingdom and worldwide. I work monitoring species richness across marine habitats, investigating the ecological role of its different species, and establishing how functional diversity links to environmental changes and key oceanic patterns—for example, climate change, which induces ocean warming and acidification. Much of my work has been the restoration of degraded marine habitats and monitoring/conserving marine life, spanning through activities on coral reefs impacted and under threat from climate change and degraded reef sites. I have been studying mesocosm experiments on different coral species and probiotic bacteria that could be helpful to corals in my past research, and more recently, I have been analyzing autonomous reef monitoring structures as a tool for reef monitoring and understanding reef restoration innovative strategies. I have broad interests in the ecology of coral reefs and use my skills to develop newer solutions to promote coral health and resilience relevant to our developing world.

Selected Publications

Delgadillo-Ordoñez N, Garcias-Bonet N, Raimundo I, García F, Villela H, Osman E, Santoro E, Curdia J, Rosado J, Cardoso P, Alsaggaf A, Barno A, Antony C, Bocanegra C, Berumen M, Voolstra C, Benzoni F, Carvalho S, Peixoto R. Probiotics reshape the coral microbiome in situ without detectable off-target effects in the surrounding environment. Communications Biology 7, 434 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06135-3
Santoro, E.P.; Borges, R.M.; Espinoza, J.L.; Freire, M.; Messias, C.S.M.A.; Villela, H.D.M.; Mattos, L.P.; Vilela, C.L.S.; Rosado, J.G.; Cardoso, P.M.; Rosado, P.M.; Assis, J.M.; Duarte, G.A.S.; Perna, G.; Rosado, A.S.; Macrae, A.; Dupont, C.L.; Nelson K.E.; Sweet, M.J.; Voolstra, C.R.; Peixoto, R.S. Coral Microbiome Manipulation Elicits Metabolic and Genetic Restructuring to Mitigate Heat stress and Evade Mortality. Science Advances, 2021. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abg3088.
Rosado, P.M.; Cardoso, P.M.; Rosado J.G.; Schultz J.; da Rocha, U.N.; Keller-Costa, T.; Peixoto, R.S. Exploring the Potential Molecular Mechanisms of Interactions between a Probiotic Consortium and Its Coral Host. mSystems, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00921-22
Cardoso PM, Hill LJ, Villela HDM, Vilela CLS, Assis JM, Rosado PM, Rosado JG, Chacon MA, Majzoub ME, Duarte GAS, Thomas T, Peixoto RS. 0. Localization and symbiotic status of probiotics in the coral holobiont. mSystems 0:e00261-24. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00261-24
Silva, D.; Duarte, G.; Villela, H.D.M.; Santos, H.; Rosado, P.M.; Rosado, J.G.; Rosado, A.; Ferreira, E.M.; Soriano, A.U.; Peixoto, R.S. Adaptable mesocosm facility to study oil spill impacts on corals. Ecology and Evolution, v. 9, 2019, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5095.

Education

Jan/2023 - Dec/2026 (current) Ph.D. in Marine Sciences at the Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Thesis topic: Revitalizing Reef Biodiversity: Investigating Cryptobenthic Succession and Alternative Nature Based Solutions for Coral Reef Rehabilitation
Jan/2021 - Dec/2022 M.Sc. in Marine Sciences at the Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Thesis topic: Red Sea Coral Reef Cryptobiome: How do nearby benthic community influence biodiversity and functioning of the reef ecosystem.
Jan/2016 – Jul/2017 / Aug/2018 – Dec/2020 B.Sc. in Biological Sciences - Genetics at the Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Thesis topic: Genome mapping of vB_VcoM-AquaRio giant bacteriophage isolated from Pocillopora damicornis that infects the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus.
Jul/2017 – Aug/2018 Exchange Program in Biological Sciences at Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA, United States

Professional Profile

Jan/2023 – Dec/2026 (current) Ph.D. student at the Reef Ecology Lab and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management Lab, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Advisors: Prof. Michael Berumen and Prof. Susana Carvalho.
Jan/2021 – Dec/2022 M.Sc. student at the Reef Ecology Lab, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Advisors: Prof. Michael Berumen and Dr. Susana Carvalho.
Sep/2018 – Dec/2020 Bachelor's student at the Institute of Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Advisors: Prof. Raquel Peixoto and Dr. Helena Villela.
Oct/2017 – Aug/2018 Trainee at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis. Advisors: Prof. Patrick Brown and Dr. Douglas Amaral.
July/2016 – July/2017 Trainee at the Institute of Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Advisor: Prof. Raquel Peixoto.

Awards

2024 - Dean’s Travel Award Spring 2024, BESE Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2018 - President’s Highest Honors for outstanding academic achievement, Sacramento City College Award, California, USA.
2017 - President’s Highest Honors for outstanding academic achievement, Sacramento City College Award, California, USA.

KAUST Affiliations

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management Lab (PI: Susana Carvalho) Reef Ecology Lab (PI: Michael Berumen)

Non-KAUST Affiliations

AAUS Scientific Diver

Research Interests Keywords

Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Marine Ecology Metabarcoding Microbiology Reef Restoration