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The University of Southampton
Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton

Fluorescene in corals Seminar

Time:
19:30
Date:
2 February 2012
Venue:
National Oceanography Centre Southampton

For more information regarding this seminar, please telephone National Oceanography Centre Southampton on +44 (0)23 8059 6666 .

Event details

The next in our series of Marine Life Talks will be delivered by Ed Smith.

Why are corals colourful? Corals are renowned for their spectacular colouration. The proteins responsible for this vivid pigmentation are found in most shallow water corals and provide hues ranging from blue to green to red.

Theories about the function of these proteins date back to the early part of the last century, however, their function remains unclear. This talk will explore key questions relating to coral pigmentation: What makes corals colourful? Why is it important? What function do the pigment proteins perform? And, what can these pigments tell us about coral health?

Further information

This talk is open to members of the public, staff and students. Admission is free.


Visitors attending the talk should arrive at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton at 7.15pm to be met in Reception.

The National Oceanography Centre Southampton can be reached via Dock Gate 4 (between Town Quay and Ocean Village).

Arrangements for wheelchairs must be made in advance. Unless it is possible to descend via the stairs in an emergency, access to upper floors cannot be permitted as lifts are automatically immobilised when the fire alarm is activated.

Speaker information

Ed Smith,Ed Smith is a 4th year PhD student from the University of Southampton and is based in the Coral Reef Laboratory (http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/corals/) at the National Oceanography Centre. His research focuses on elucidating the function of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like proteins in reef building corals and the applications of these proteins to reef monitoring. He has a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology with Oceanography from the University of Southampton and a MSc in Remote Sensing from University College London.

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