Marine Biology Auburn University- Montgomery

Program Description

Marine biological research is conducted by five faculty members who share an interest in how marine organisms evolve, function, and interact with the environment in the world’s oceans. Marine biological studies at Auburn span all levels of organization from molecular genetics to community structure and ecosystem functioning. Projects involve campus-based laboratory research as well as field studies in Atlantic, Caribbean, tropical Indo-Pacific, and Antarctic seas. Areas of expertise include patterns of gene flow and biogeography in marine invertebrates, evolutionary origins of major lineages of animals, genetic diversity and ecological roles of endocellular microalgae (zooxanthellae), ultrastructure of marine invertebrates, mechanisms of ciliary and flagellar movement, cell motility and the cytoskeleton, biodiversity of marine microbes and their communities, control of gene expression in response to changes in salinity, osmotic and ionic regulation, cell volume regulation, nitrogen metabolism in estuarine invertebrates, respiration in intertidal and amphibious crustaceans, ecological interactions among cnidarians (sea anemones, corals) and their fish and crustacean symbionts, and locomotory and aggressive behavior of colonial marine invertebrates during competition for space on hard substrata. Applied studies in marine conservation examine the effects of overharvesting and tourism on coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs.

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