Currents Fall 2012 Newsletter - Volume XXVII, Number 2

9 REPRODUCTION AND EVOLUTION LABORATORY Researcher: Nicole Fogarty, Ph.D. “Sperm are infinitesimally small; it is truly remarkable that they are able to find tiny eggs in a vast ocean. Fertilization success in the sea is especially astonishing when considering the recent dramatic declines in the density of many broadcast spawners.” Research Focus: The initial step to reproductive success is fertilization, yet we know little about this life history stage in most marine invertebrates. Our research focuses on ecological and evolutionary questions related to the fertilization success of broadcast spawners. We are particularly interested in how density-dependent mechanisms of reproduction will influence invertebrate population recovery, as well as spawning synchrony, reproductive isolation, and speciation. Research Activities: • invertebrate fertilization and larval ecology • density dependent reproductive isolating barriers • allee effects on invertebrate reproduction • coral reproduction isolation and speciation • Caribbean acroporid coral hybridization dynamics • coral demographics • pheromones involved in coral spawning synchrony • exogenous hormones and pollutants on invertebrate reproduction • gamete chemoattractants • coral mapping using GIS • coral clonal structure using microsatellite markers • coral morphometrics Acroporid larva looking for a place to settle on crustose coralline algae next to recently metamorphosed corals Nicole Fogarty, Ph.D., preparing coral samples SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY LABORATORY Researcher: Bernard Riegl, Ph.D. “Climate change has adversely impacted coral reefs in a variety of ways. Our research investigates coral stress and resilience to identify best pathways for reef survivorship in an uncertain future.” Research Focus: An interdisciplinary approach to the systems biology of coral reefs in response to past and future global and other changes. Research Activities: • coral reef geology • population dynamics of reef organisms • forecasting of reef trajectories • hydrographic surveying particularly sonar-based seafloor discrimination • integrating optical remote-sensing to provide high-resolution maps of the seafloor • coastal zone management Biology meets geology. Professor Bernhard Reigl, Ph.D., maintaining hydrographic survey hardware and software built by the laboratory