Brief introduction:
Though more specious than shallow tropical corals, cold-water/deep-water corals are often out of sight-out of mind because of the extreme conditions they live under. These corals are found in every ocean and at all depths, from shallow intertidal in polar extremes, to deep abyssal plains in the tropics. They have a variety of life strategies to be able to survive such conditions, though research into how these organisms function is still in its infancy because the areas of the globe they inhabit are hard to sample.

My research covers many aspects of cold-water coral ecology, from examining biogeographic patterns across the globe, physiological consequences of anthropogenic impacts, to investigations of reproduction and larval development. This seminar will examine what cold-water corals are and where they are found, touch on aspects of my research that examine how anthropogenic influences are impacting cold-water coral populations and go into detail on my research in Southeastern Alaska that has given the opportunity to examine seasonal influences on reproductive ecology of a deep-sea species.