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Michael Lesser

Emeritus
Phone: (603) 862-3442
Office: Durham, NH 03824
Curriculum Vitae
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.

Education

  • Ph.D., Zoology, University of Maine
  • M.S., Microbiology, University of New Hampshire
  • B.A., University of New Hampshire
  • A.S., Medical Laboratory Science, George Washington University

Selected Publications

  • Edmunds, P. J., Burgess, S. C., Putnam, H. M., Baskett, M. L., Bramanti, L., Fabina, N. S., . . . Gates, R. D. (2014). Evaluating the causal basis of ecological success within the scleractinia: an integral projection model approach. MARINE BIOLOGY, 161(12), 2719-2734. doi:10.1007/s00227-014-2547-y

  • Slattery, M., & Lesser, M. P. (2014). Allelopathy in the tropical alga Lobophora variegata: An indirect cause of phase shifts on mesophotic coral reefs?. PLANTA MEDICA, 80(10), 848. Retrieved from https://www.webofscience.com/

  • Slattery, M., & Lesser, M. P. (2014). Allelopathy in the tropical alga Lobophora variegata (Phaeophyceae): mechanistic basis for a phase shift on mesophotic coral reefs?. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, 50(3), 493-505. doi:10.1111/jpy.12160

  • Lesser, M. P., & Jarett, J. K. (2014). Culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses reveal no prokaryotic community shifts or recovery of Serratia marcescens in Acropora palmata with white pox disease. FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY, 88(3), 457-467. doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12311

  • Fiore, C. L., Jarett, J. K., & Lesser, M. P. (2013). Symbiotic prokaryotic communities from different populations of the giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta. MICROBIOLOGYOPEN, 2(6), 938-952. doi:10.1002/mbo3.135

  • Lesser, M. P., & Slattery, M. (2011). Phase shift to algal dominated communities at mesophotic depths associated with lionfish (Pterois volitans) invasion on a Bahamian coral reef. BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS, 13(8), 1855-1868. doi:10.1007/s10530-011-0005-z

  • Lesser, M. P. (2011). Coral Bleaching: Causes and Mechanisms. In CORAL REEFS: AN ECOSYSTEM IN TRANSITION (pp. 405-419). doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0114-4_23

  • Lesser, M. P., Slattery, M., Stat, M., Ojimi, M., Gates, R. D., & Grottoli, A. (2010). Photoacclimatization by the coral Montastraea cavernosa in the mesophotic zone: light, food, and genetics. ECOLOGY, 91(4), 990-1003. doi:10.1890/09-0313.1

  • Lesser, M. P., Slattery, M., & Leichter, J. J. (2009). Ecology of mesophotic coral reefs. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY, 375(1-2), 1-8. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2009.05.009

  • Fitt, W. K., Gates, R. D., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Bythell, J. C., Jatkar, A., Grottoli, A. G., . . . Lesser, M. P. (2009). Response of two species of Indo-Pacific corals, Porites cylindrica and Stylophora pistillata, to short-term thermal stress: The host does matter in determining the tolerance of corals to bleaching. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY, 373(2), 102-110. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2009.03.011

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  • Most Cited Publications