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Faculty & Research
Jan A. Pechenik
Professor
Invertebrate Zoology and Marine Biology
B.A., Zoology, Duke University
Ph.D., Biological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island Graduate Research Area:
Ecology,
Behavior and Evolution Research Interests
Marine invertebrates show a remarkable range of reproductive and
developmental patterns. I am especially interested in
understanding the costs and benefits associated with these
different patterns. Our research is driven by the questions we
ask, rather than by the features of any particular group of
animals. Over the years, I have worked with gastropods,
bivalves, chitons, polychaetes, crustaceans, parasitic
flatworms, colonial ascidians, and bryozoans. The research
presently going on in my lab considers the following major
issues:
- To what extent do sublethal larval stresses (e.g., food
limitation, exposure to pollutants, delayed metamorphosis)
affect the fitness of individuals after they metamorphose?
- What are the relationships between reproductive pattern,
kin recognition, and inbreeding depression in marine
gastropods?
- How do sedentary individuals locate and recognize
appropriate members of their species for mating?
- To what extent can marine invertebrates adapt to
pollution, and how does reproductive pattern influence the
extent to which such adaptation occurs?
- What role does nitric oxide play in controlling
metamorphosis of the marine gastropod Crepidula
fornicata.
Courses
Bio 164: Marine Biology
Bio 179: Marine Biology Seminar
Bio 51: Experiments in Ecology
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