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06/30/2012: ""Deep sea coral reefs"

University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories is pleased to announce the Annual Illg Distinguished Lecturer will be Dr. Jason Hall-Spencer. The free lecture will be on Sunday, July 1 at 7:00 pm at the San Juan Community Theater.

Jason is a marine biologist and Reader in Marine Biology at Plymouth University, UK and received his PhD in marine ecology from the University of London in 1995. He conducts applied research to provide policy makers with the scientific information needed to best manage the marine environment, ranging from deep-sea benthos, fisheries, aquaculture, marine protected areas, biogenic reefs and seamounts.

This year his group is working on:

i) coral reefs deep in the Arctic Ocean
ii) using satellite tracking of fishing vessels to design effective conservation areas
iii) studying underwater volcanoes in temperate and tropical seas to help predict the effects of ocean acidification due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Photo: Associazione Nemo - Luca Tiberti

The Italian island of Ischia provides a natural experiment in progress testing the ecological impacts of ocean acidification, as depicted dramatically in this YouTube video.

Recent publications include:

Porzio L, Buia MC, Hall-Spencer JM (2011) Effects of ocean acidification on macroalgal communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 400, 278-287.

Rodolfo-Metalpa R, Houlbrèque F, Tambutté E, Boisson F, Baggini C, Patti FP, Jeffree R, Fine M, Foggo A, Gattuso J-P, Hall-Spencer JM (2011) Coral and mollusc resistance to ocean acidification adversely affected by warming. Nature Climate Change 1,308-312.

Söffker M, Sloman KA, Hall-Spencer JM (2011) In situ observations of fish associated with coral reefs off Ireland. Deep-Sea Research Part 1 58, 818-825.

This endowed lecture series is presented in honor of Professor Paul L. Illg, who made many important contributions as a scientist, teacher, mentor, and friend. Paul excelled as a faculty member of the UW Zoology Department from 1952 - 1982. An expert in the biology of crustaceans, he participated in many summer sessions at Friday Harbor Laboratories. He invited world-renowned scholars to FHL to join him in teaching invertebrate biology and thus greatly enhanced the quality of the graduate program and research at the Laboratories. The lectureship endowment was established through memorial gifts by Paul's family, many friends and colleagues.