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Michael P. LesserResearch Professor |
Educational Background
Ph. D., University of Maine, Zoology, 1989
M.S., University of New Hampshire, Microbiology, 1985
B.A., University of New Hampshire, Microbiology, Minor: Zoology, 1983
A.S. George Washington University, Medical Laboratory Science, 1977
Courses Taught
Biological Oceanography, Physiological Ecology, Marine Biology, Marine Microbiology, General Microbiology, Immunology, Biology and Ecology of Coral Reefs
Current Research Interests
My principal focus involve understanding how taxonomically diverse marine organisms respond physiologically to changes in their environment. In particular I'm interested in how organismal physiology can influence the ecology of marine organisms. As a physiological ecologist my students and I answer these types of questions by utilizing field and laboratory experiments, as well as a wide range of techniques from molecular biology to in situ measurements. Currently my research encompasses four major areas;
1) Biochemistry and molecular genetics of oxidative stress in marine organisms associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation, elevated
temperatures, or hyperoxic conditions.
2) Physiological ecology of marine invertebrates and phytoplankton, physiological responses to changes in the environment, bacterial- and algal-invertebrate symbioses, and the trophic biology of suspension-feeding invertebrates.
3) Ecology and photobiology of mesophotic coral reefs.
4) Underwater technology, use of technical diving for scientific research.
Selected Publications
Lesser, M. P. and W. R. Stochaj. Photoadaptation and Protection Against Active Forms of Oxygen In Prochloron sp. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 56: 1530-1535,1990
Lesser, M. P. and R. P. Blakemore. Description of a Novel Symbiotic Bacterium from the Brittlestar, Amphipholis squamata. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 56:2436-2440, 1990
Cullen, J. J, P. J. Neale, and M. P. Lesser. Biological Weighting Function for the Inhibition of Phytoplankton Photosynthesis by Ultraviolet Radiation. Science, 258:646-650, 1992
Lesser, M. P. Exposure of Symbiotic Dinoflagellates To Elevated Temperatures and Ultraviolet Radiation Causes Oxidative Stress and Inhibits Photosynthesis. Limnology and Oceanography, 41: 271-283, 1996
Lesser, M. P., P. J. Neale, and J. J. Cullen. Acclimation of Antarctic Phytoplankton to Ultraviolet Radiation: UV Absorbing Compounds and Carbon Fixation. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology, 5: 314-325, 1996
Lesser, M. P., Barry, T. M., and A. T. Banaszak. Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on a Chlorophyte Alga (Scenedesmus sp.) Isolated From the Fumarole Fields of Mt. Erebus, Antarctica. Journal of Phycology, 38: 473-481, 2002
Lesser, M. P. Experimental Coral Reef Biology. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 300: 217-252, 2004
Lesser, M. P., Mazel, C. M., Gorbunov, M. Y., and P. G. Falkowski. Discovery of Symbiotic Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria in Corals. Science, 305: 997-1000, 2004
Lesser, M. P. Oxidative Stress in Marine Environments: Biochemistry and Physiological Ecology. Annual Reviews of Physiology, 68: 253-278, 2006
Bou-Abdallah, F., Chasteen, N. D., and M. P. Lesser. Quenching of Superoxide Radicals by Green Fluorescent Protein. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (General Subjects) 1760:1690-1695, 2006
Lesser, M. P. Coral Reefs Bleaching and Global Climate Change: Can Corals Survive the Next Century? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104: 5259-5260, 2007
Lesser, M. P., Falcón, L. I. Rodríguez-Román, A., Enríquez, S., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., and R. Iglesias-Prieto. Nitrogen Fixation by Symbiotic Cyanobacteria Provides a Source of Nitrogen for the Scleractinian Coral, Montastraea cavernosa. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 346:143-152, 2007.
Harrington, L. H., Walker, C. W., and M. P. Lesser. Gametogenesis in the Green Sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Invertebrate Biology, 126: 202-209, 2007.
Lesser, M. P., and C. Mobley. Bathymetry, Water Optical Properties, and Benthic Classification of Coral Reefs Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Imagery. Coral Reefs, 26: 819-829, 2007
Blakeslee, A. M. H., Byers, J. E., and M. P. Lesser. Resolving cryptogenic histories using host and parasite molecular genetics. Molecular Ecology, 17: 3684-3696, 2008
Lesser, M. P. Slattery, M., and J. J. Leichter. Ecology of Mesophotic Coral Reefs. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 375: 1-8, 2009.
Banaszak, A. T. and M. P. Lesser. Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Coral Reef Organisms. Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 8: 1276-1294, 2009.
Comments and questions should be directed to Dr. Michael Lesser
Last updated: 14 Decemer 2009
