Molecular and Morphological Mysteries of Black Corals
The Coastal Discovery Museum will present Dr. Mercer R. Brugler on November 2 at 2 pm for this program as part of our Discovery Lecture Series.
The deep sea is the largest environment on Earth, yet we have only explored ~5% of this extreme habitat. Dr. Brugler’s research program utilizes morphology and DNA to investigate mesophotic and deep-water black corals that have been studied much less than other corals. Black corals hold the record for the deepest (8,600m) and longest-lived (4,265 years old) coral. join Dr. Brugler to hear stories of his research and experiences.
Dr. Mercer R. Brugler earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at the University of Miami, Florida (1997-2001), a Master of Science in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston’s Grice Marine Laboratory (2001-2004), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2004-2011). He was a Gerstner Scholar and Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History’s (AMNH) Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics from 2011-2014. Prior to arriving in the Lowcountry in August 2020, he was an Associate Professor at NYC College of Technology (CUNY), an adjunct at NYU, a lecturer at Columbia University, and ran a deep-sea molecular lab at the AMNH. Dr. Brugler is currently an Associate Professor of Marine Biology at USCB and a Research Associate at the AMNH and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
Cost of the program is $7 per person for in-person, and $5 per household for virtual. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 843-689-6767 ext. 223 or at www.coastaldiscovery.org under Discovery Lecture Series.
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