The majority of marine animals have a larval stage that is free-living, long-lived, and very different from the juvenile or adult. Despite the fundamental importance of larvae in marine  life cycles, the factors controlling larval success or failure in the ocean are one of the great ‘black boxes’ of marine biology.  We study larval evolution, the physiological and morphological adaptations of larvae and juveniles to different environmental conditions,  and how environment affects survival, dispersal, and recruitment into adult populations.

Anthropogenic changes to the ocean are already having profound effects on the life histories, growth, reproduction, and population dynamics of marine organisms. We study how major drivers of metabolism and organismal performance like temperature and oxygen availability affect the survival and energetic performance of marine invertebrates across from eggs to larvae to juveniles to adults, including cross-generational effects that are passed from parents to offspring.

The Hawaiian archipelago is one of the most geographically isolated landforms in the world, with a high number of endemic marine species. In collaboration with the Marko Lab at UH and with scientists at NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Center we are using sea urchins as a model to identify the most likely routes of historical gene flow into and around the Hawaiian islands. We are also investigating the role of environmental factors (food, temperature) in determining how long larvae can survive and disperse in the plankton.

How do marine invertebrates function in the coldest ocean water on Earth? How will changing ocean conditions affect organisms and ecosystems that have been evolving at temperatures below freezing for millions of years? These are some of the questions we address working at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, one of the most remote and beautiful places on the planet.