Education:
BA 1976 Zoology- Trinity College University of Dubland Ireland
PhD 1980 Physiology/ Marine Biology- Univ. Wales, U.K.
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:
1980-1983 University of Irvine, California
Started at USC: 1983
Research Topics: Marine Biology, Membranes & Transport, Developmental Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Microbial/Invertebrate Genetics
Research Description
The majority of marine animals have a larval stage of development as an intermediate between the egg and the adult stages. In spite of the obvious importance of larvae in the life cycles of marine animals, little is understood about the biology of these complex life history stages when compared to what is known about adult forms.
My specific area of research is the environmental physiology of development of marine invertebrates, especially the larval stages. Understanding growth and development of any animal in its environment, be it terrestrial or aquatic, is a very complex process. For species of marine animals, the problem of understanding the biology of larval stages is further complicated by the vast scales and different environments of the world's oceans over which life-history strategies are known to vary. The approaches being undertaken in my laboratory to study how larvae work are as follows:(1) to study the environmental biology of larvae at several different levels of analysis (e.g., ecology, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology)(2) to investigate a variety of phyla with species representing different life-history strategies (e.g., echinoderms, molluscs, annelids, and arthropods[in order of current emphasis in our laboratory])(3) to undertake comparative studies of similar species developing in very different oceanic environments (e.g., the cold polar oceans of Antarctica cf. the warmer ocean off California cf. deep-sea environments, such as hydrothermal vents).
Selected Publications
Pace DA, Manahan DT. - Cost of protein synthesis and energy allocation during development of antarctic sea urchin embryos and larvae. - Biol Bull [ 2007 ] Apr;212(2):115-29 . PubMed
Pace DA, Manahan DT. - Fixed metabolic costs for highly variable rates of protein synthesis in sea urchin embryos and larvae. - J Exp Biol [ 2006 ] Jan;209(Pt 1):158-70 . PubMed
