Research Seminar Series Celebrates Year of the Coral Reef
June Lecture Features Dr. Richard Pyle
The final lecture in the Coral Reef Lecture Series will be presented June 12 at 6 p.m. in Atherton Halau at Bishop Museum. Bishop Museum’s intrepid underwater explorer Dr. Richard Pyle will present, Into the Twilight Zone: Exploring the Deep Coral Reefs. Parking and admission are free.
Bishop Museum has joined the world in the celebration of the International Year of the Coral Reef with this special Research Seminar Series Lecture focused on coral reef ecology featuring noted researchers and experts in the field. The program is sponsored in part by Outrigger Reef on the Beach and the Kohala Center.
Coral reef habitat extends from the surface of tropical seas down to a depth of approximately 500 feet (150 meters), but only the upper one-third of this habitat has been adequately explored. The remaining two-thirds of coral-reef habitat, which lies at depths beyond what can be safely accessed with conventional scuba gear, remains almost completely unknown. Using advanced, high-tech diving gear and special gas mixtures, a team of marine biologists has begun to investigate the deep coral reefs, and have discovered more than a hundred new species of fishes. Dr. Pyle will describe how a multi-institutional team of scientists in Hawai‘i—with funding from NOAA—are collaborating to document the deep coral reefs off Maui using state-of-the-art technologies.
The Research Seminar Series is a monthly forum held on the second Thursday of each month. The free lecture programs are coordinated by Bishop Museum’s Dr. Steve Coles, who may be reached at slcoles@bishopmuseum.org or (808) 847-8256. For more information about Bishop Museum’s Research Seminar Series on Coral Reefs, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
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