Eric Hochberg is a reef ecologist whose main research centers on the interaction between light and the function of tropical and subtropical shallow water ecosystems, particularly coral reefs. In practice, much of his research has focused on the development and application of in situ optical and remote sensing methods to study various aspects of coral reef system function, at scales from centimeters to hundreds of kilometers. Eric’s recent research projects include the NASA-funded COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL), a three-year mission that used airborne instrumentation and remote sensing approaches to identify reef composition and model primary production from an ecosystem perspective.
Eric received his PhD in oceanography from the University of Hawaii in 2002 where he studied spectral reflectance and remote sensing of coral reefs. Prior to joining BIOS he was an assistant professor at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. Currently, Eric serves as the associate editor for the journal Frontiers in Marine Science: Coral Reef Research and he is on the editorial board for Remote Sensing of Environment. He is part of the science team for the NASA Hyspiri mission study and he is serving on the “Ecosystems” panel for the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
Research Interests:
Ecology and bio-optics of coral reef/shallow water organisms, communities and systems; remote sensing of coral reefs for application to ecosystem-scale scientific studies and conservation across local, regional and global scales; organism-, community- and ecosystem-scale biogeochemical responses to stressors, both local and global/climate-related; connection between genetic, taxonomic, functional and bio-optical diversity.
Educational Background:
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 2002
-PhD in Oceanography
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 1998
-MSc in Oceanography
Brown University, Providence, RI, 1991
-BA in Biology
Click here for a full list of Dr. Hochberg's publications.
Further Information:
Coral Reef Ecology and Optics Laboratory (CREOL)
Marine Environmental Program (MEP)
COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL)
Selected Publications:
Hochberg EJ (2011) Remote sensing of coral reef processes. In: Dubinsky Z, Stambler N (eds) Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition. Springer, The Netherlands, pp25-35
Hochberg EJ, Andréfouët S, Tyler MR (2003) Sea surface correction of high spatial resolution Ikonos images to improve bottom mapping in near-shore environments. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 41:1724-1729
Hochberg EJ, Apprill AM, Atkinson MJ, Bidigare RR (2006) Bio-optical modeling of photosynthetic pigments in corals. Coral Reefs 25:99-109
Hochberg EJ, Atkinson MJ (2000) Spectral discrimination of coral reef benthic communities. Coral Reefs 19:164-171
Hochberg EJ, Atkinson MJ (2003) Capabilities of remote sensors to classify coral, algae and sand as pure and mixed spectra. Remote Sens Environ 85:174-189
Hochberg EJ, Atkinson MJ (2008) Coral reef benthic productivity based on optical absorptance and light-use efficiency. Coral Reefs 27:49-59
Hochberg EJ, Atkinson MJ, Andréfouët S (2003) Spectral reflectance of coral reef bottom-types worldwide and implications for coral reef remote sensing. Remote Sens Environ 85:159-173
Hochberg EJ, Atkinson MJ, Apprill A, Andrefouet S (2004) Spectral reflectance of coral. Coral Reefs 23:84-95
Kahng SE, Hochberg EJ, Apprill A, Wagner D, Luck DG, Perez D, Bidigare RR (2012) Efficient light harvesting in deep-water zooxanthellate corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 455:65-77
Mumby PJ, Skirving W, Strong AE, Hardy JT, LeDrew EF, Hochberg EJ, Stumpf RP, David LT (2004) Remote sensing of coral reefs and their physical environment. Mar Pollut Bull 48:219-228