Find a Conference

Alert – GRC attendees have received calls from individuals claiming to be affiliated with several of our conference venues. These callers are not authorized by GRC or the venue. Details are available by clicking here.

Marine Molecular Ecology

Gordon Research Conference

Novel Insights into Marine Patterns and Processes

July 14 - 19, 2019

Chairs Madeleine van Oppen and Qinglu Zeng

Vice Chairs Linda L. Blackall and Jian-Wen Qiu

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Clear Water Bay, Kowloon

Hong Kong, CN

Venue and Travel Information

Hong Kong Advisory Board:Kathryn Song Eng Cheah, Fanny M.C. Cheung, Nancy Ip, Jian Lu, Alfonso Ngan, Paul Tam, Rocky S. Tuan, Benjamin Wah, Henry Wong, Vivian Wing-Wah Yam, Kenneth Young, Albert Cheung-Hoi Yu, Xiang Zhang

Conference Description

This conference is characterized by its breadth of topics, study organisms and spatial scales of ecological processes. Sessions are linked by the application of molecular approaches to understand marine ecological processes, such as symbiosis, competition, larval dispersal, responses to environmental change, and nutrient cycling. Rapid technological developments are taking place in several areas relevant to marine molecular ecology, including -omics tools, bioinformatics and advanced microscopy, providing new opportunities for understanding life in the sea. Many marine organisms could not be studied in much detail prior to these recent technological developments. At this conference, the latest findings in nine specialist areas within the field of marine molecular ecology will be presented, with ample opportunity for discussion with leaders in the field.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Marine Molecular Ecology (GRS)" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 8:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	eDNA in the Marine Environment Discussion Leader: Paul Barber (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:45 pm - 8:15 pm	Masaki Miya (Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba, Japan) "Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Enables a Data-Driven Approach for Fish Community Research in Large Spatiotemporal Scales"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:55 pm	Ryan Kelly (College of the Environment, University of Washington, USA) "Using Environmental DNA to Track Community- and Ecosystem-Level Change"
8:55 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Disease and Immunology Discussion Leader: Laura Mydlarz (University of Texas at Arlington, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:40 am	Drew Harvell (Cornell University, USA) "Heating up Disease Outbreaks in the Oceans"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:20 am	Lone Gram (Technical University of Denmark, Denmark) "Roseobacter as Probiotic Against Vibrio Infections in Marine Larviculture"
10:20 am - 10:30 am	Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Group Photo / Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am	Ian Hewson (Cornell University, USA) "Sea Star Wasting: Is It a Disease, Disorder, Syndrome or Condition?"
11:20 am - 11:30 am	Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am	Nikki Traylor-Knowles (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, USA) "Coral Cellular Immunity"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm	Mark Pellegrino (University of Texas at Arlington, USA) "Uncovering a Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response in Corals and Its Role in Adapting to a Changing World"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm	The GRC Power Hour™ The GRC Power Hour™ is designed to address challenges women face in science and issues of diversity and inclusion. The program supports the professional growth of all members of our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. Organizer: Drew Harvell (Cornell University, USA)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Epigenetics Discussion Leader: Manuel Aranda Lastra (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:05 pm	Patricia Schulte (University of British Columbia, Canada) "Persistent and Plastic Changes in DNA Methylation in Response to Environmental Stressors in Stickleback"
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pm	Steven Roberts (School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, USA) "Epigenetic Mechanisms in Marine Invertebrates: Perspectives and Applications"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm	Alexander Jueterbock (Nord University, Norway) "Functional Role of Epigenetic Variation in Seagrass Under Heat Stress"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Microbial Interactions in the Ocean Discussion Leader: Fengping Wang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:40 am	Ken Takai (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan) "Hadal Microbial Communities in the Western Pacific Trenches"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:15 am	Xiao-Hua Zhang (Ocean University of China, China) "Insight into Microbial Metabolisms in the Deepest Seawater on Earth"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:20 am	Mikhail Zubkov (Scottish Association for Marine Science, United Kingdom) "How Eukaryotic CO₂ Fixers Co-Exist with Faster Growing Prokaryotic CO₂ Fixers in the Oligotrophic Ocean"
11:20 am - 11:30 am	Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am	Federico Lauro (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) "The Role of Microbial Communities in Deep-Sea Biocorrosion"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm	Karla Heidelberg (University of Southern California, USA) "Probing Different Nutritional Strategies Among Marine Mixotrophic Protists"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Poster Session
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Novel Methods in Marine Molecular Ecology Discussion Leader: Bryan Wilson (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
4:00 pm - 4:05 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
4:05 pm - 4:30 pm	James Birch (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA) "Autonomous Collection and Analysis of Microbes and eDNA"
4:30 pm - 4:45 pm	Discussion
4:45 pm - 5:10 pm	Phillip Cleves (Stanford University, USA) "Using Transcriptomics and Reverse Genetics to Understand Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis and Heat Response"
5:10 pm - 5:20 pm	Discussion
5:20 pm - 5:45 pm	Jana Milucka (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Germany) "Activity and Interactions of Marine Microorganisms: Insights from NanoSIMS Imaging"
5:45 pm - 6:00 pm	Discussion
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Marine Viruses Discussion Leader: Curtis Suttle (University of British Columbia, Canada)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:40 am	Debbie Lindell (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) "The Polony Method for the Direct Quantification of Cyanophage Abundance and Infection Patterns"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:20 am	Assaf Vardi (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) "A Single Cell View on Host Virus Metabolic Arms Race at Sea"
10:20 am - 10:30 am	Discussion
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am	Mathias Middelboe (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) "Marine Viruses as Drivers of Bacterial Evolution"
11:20 am - 11:30 am	Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am	Cynthia Silveira (San Diego State University, USA) "Lysogenic Switches in Marine Phage Communities"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm	Joshua Weitz (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) "Modeling Viral Impacts on Marine Ecosystem Function"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Dispersal and Larval Biology Discussion Leader: Maria Beger (University of Leeds, United Kingdom)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:05 pm	Geoffrey Jones (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia) "Parentage Analysis: Testing Old Assumptions in Reef Fish Ecology, Conservation and Fisheries"
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pm	Claire Paris-Limouzy (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, USA) "An Integrative Empirical and Modeling Approach to Larval Dispersal and Coral Reef Connectivity"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm	Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm	Giacomo Bernardi (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA) "Using Radseq Markers to Study Dispersal in Corals and Fish"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Climate Change Mitigation on Coral Reefs Session in memory of Ruth Gates. Discussion Leader: Rebecca Vega Thurber (Oregon State University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:05 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:05 am - 9:40 am	Raquel Peixoto (University of California, Davis, USA / Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) "Can Probiotics Save Corals?"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:15 am	Danwei Huang (National University of Singapore, Singapore) "Protecting Evolutionary Potential in the Face of Climate Change"
10:15 am - 10:25 am	Discussion
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Coffee Break
10:55 am - 11:15 am	Emily Howells (School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia) "Breeding Corals for Heat Tolerance"
11:15 am - 11:25 am	Discussion
11:25 am - 11:45 am	James Guest (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, United Kingdom) "Assessing the Feasibility of Assisted Gene Flow on Coral Reefs"
11:45 am - 11:55 am	Discussion
11:55 am - 12:20 pm	Kate Quigley (Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia) "Manipulating the Coral-Algal Symbiosis for Increased Thermal Tolerance"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Chemical Ecology Discussion Leader: Valerie Paul (Smithsonian Institution, USA)
4:00 pm - 4:05 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
4:05 pm - 4:35 pm	Joseph Pawlik (Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA) "The Chemical Ecology of Sponges on Caribbean Coral Reefs: From Metabolite to Ecosystem"
4:35 pm - 4:50 pm	Discussion
4:50 pm - 5:15 pm	Kathryn Van Alstyne (Western Washington University, USA) "Environmentally Induced Plasticity in DMSP Production in Marine Macroalgae"
5:15 pm - 5:30 pm	Discussion
5:30 pm - 5:50 pm	Mohamed Donia (Princeton University, USA) "Chemically Mediated Interactions In Multipartite Marine Symbioses"
5:50 pm - 6:00 pm	Discussion
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure