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Mikael Dahl, Department of Marine Ecology, Göteborg University at Tjärnö.
My research focuses on molecular ecology and conservation genetics of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, which is the main reef-building coral in the eastern Atlantic but is also common in the Mediterranean Sea and in the western Atlantic.
Large areas of coral reefs in these areas have been damaged or destroyed by bottom trawling and ocean acidification caused by the ocean's uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and can possibly threat the future of these rich ecosystems.
Although the existence of cold-water or deep-sea corals has been known for hundreds of years, their biology and ecology is still poorly understood. This is in part due to the inaccessibility of these eco-systems, but the technical advances have only recently allowed more thorough studies.
I do two population genetic studies, one at the scale of the European continental margin and the second at a small-scale level to better understand ecosystem functions at local scales. Since the shallowest and possibly the easiest accessible reef localities are those located in the NE Skagerrak at Swedish and Norwegian waters, these areas allow a fantastic opportunity for small-scale population studies. Other ongoing research projects are:
- Sequencing the mitochondrial genome of Lophelia
- Microarray experiment to characterise the genomic response in regard to ocean acidification
- Description of the Lophelia larvae
- Active restoration of reefs
At the moment, I am on parental leave with my daughter Alva (8 months), and as soon as I return to work, I will finnish the writing of my theses.
Last modified 3 May 2010
