Invertebrate Zoology

Dr. Charles Birkeland - the interactions of crustose coralline algae, coral recruitment and herbivorous fishes, and how these interactions are affected by overfishing and by nutrient input.

Dr. Julie Brock - the community structure, trophic response and ecology of benthic invertebrates, paticularly polychaetes at sewage outfalls; polychaete systematics and taxonomy.

Dr. H. Gert de Couet - the evolution of genetic networks in developmental pathways emploied by the native Hawaiian Sepiolid squid.

Dr. Robert Cowie - geographic and evolutionary origins of biological diversity of Pacific Island non-marine snails; issues of alien species and conservation ecology with respect to non-marine snails; snail shell coiling and asymmetry

Dr. Michael Hadfield - chemosensory mechanisms of marine slugs, with a special emphasis on finding and characterizing the major gene family that specifies chemoreceptor proteins; the interactions between marine microorganisms and developing marine polychaetes, especially at the time of larval recruitment; demography and conservation biology of Hawaiian tree snails.

Dr. Daniel Hartline - neuroethology and neuroecology of copepods, i.e. the relation between physiological and morphological properties of a zooplankter's sensory systems (specifically mechano- and chemoreception in copepods) and the animal's behavior and ecology.

Dr. Tom Humphreys - immune systems of marine sponges, molecular characterization of immune system receptor and immunocytes, and activation of immune response; examining developmental master control genes that specify vertebrate structures in the hemichordate acorn worm, Ptychodera flava, to understand the evolutionary pathways that have lead to the chordates.

Dr. Paul Jokiel - the effects of the physical parameters on coral reef ecosystems, such as light (spectrum, intensity and modulation), temperature, water motion, salinity, various pollutants, sedimentation and nutrients; the biogeography and dispersal of reef organisms, reef structure and function, and various biological dimensions such as competition and genetic structure.

Dr. Alison Kay - systematics, ecology, and biogeography of Pacific mollusks.

Dr. Robert Kinzie - the symbiosis between reef building corals and their symbiotic algae; the photobiology of reef corals with particular emphasis of ultraviolet radiation; reproductive biology and life history patterns of diadromous endemic fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks of Hawaiian streams

Dr. Petra Lenz (Associate Faculty) - the relation between physiological and structural properties of mechanosensory systems in copepods and its relation to behavior and ecology.

Dr. Mark Martindale - the cellular and molecular formation of metameric body plans; the relationship between radially symmetrical and bilaterally symmetrical organisms; the role of the early cleavage program in the segregation of developmental potential in a wide variety of invertebrates (e.g. molluscs, annelids, nemerteans, sipunculids, echiurans, and flatworms..) which share a mode of embryogenesis known as spiral cleavage.

Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai - establishment and maintenance of animal/bacterial symbioses, specifically the relationship between the Hawaiian sepiolid squid Euprymna scolopes and its luminous bacterial partner Vibrio fischeri.

Dr. John Stimson - the operation of the zooxanthellae--coral mutualism; the influence of the interactions between corals and other organisms on the diversity within coral communities; the process of succession in coral communities; and the growth rates and morphology of corals.

Dr. Robert Toonen - evolution of larval life history modes, patterns and consequences of larval dispersal and settlement cues for marine species; phylogeography and population structure in marine invertebrates; quantifying patterns of connectivity and distribution of genetic structure for the purpose of designing marine protected areas (MPAs); stock structure and management of fisheries species; the ecology, biogeography and impact of invasive marine species on Hawaii's coral reef communities.

Dr. Christopher Womersley - the physiological/biochemical adaptations in response to extreme environmental stress (i.e., dehydration and freezing) using nematodes, tardigrades and rotifers as models.

Dr. Athula Wikramanayake - embryonic development of invertebrates using sea urchins and sea anemones as models: the mechanisms by which maternally loaded developmental information is partitioned in a reproducible manner in the early embryo to initiate pattern formation; and how these mechanisms are modified during evolution to produce morphological diversity.