LaJeunesse, Ph.D., Todd C.

Todd is an Associate Professor of Biology at Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the symbiosis between coral polyps and dinoflagelattes. Coral reefs are one the world’s most spectacular ecosystems. Animals that build these ecosystems are colonies of many thousands or millions of tiny connected polyps, living in symbiosis with brown single-celled organisms known as dinoflagellates. In studying the relationships between these organisms, the Symbiosis Ecology and Evolution Laboratory is describing the basic biology of these animal-microbe interactions. This work seeks to understand how reef corals have persisted over vast geological time, and how they will respond to global climate change. Programs: Coral Physiology, Ecology, Symbiosis, and Evolution The Intriguing Evolution of Palau Corals