SUMMARY OF THREE RESEARCH TOPICS TO BE PRESENTED ON NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Biotechnological Research (Dr. David L. Ballantine)

Biotechnological Research at UPRM's Department of Marine Sciences is focused on several research lines including (but not limited to):

1. Natural products from marine sources and its potential biomedical applications.

2. 2. Feasibility of the large scale production of industrially/biomedically important natural products from marine organisms utilizing recombinant DNA tools.

3. Molecular biology of signal perception and intracellular secondary messenger molecules in marine microorganisms and algae. These include those that may mediate as signals the ecological interactions between populations and organisms. These molecules are being studied in three systems: the marine yeast Debaryomyces hansenii, the red alga Murayella periclados and a dinoflagellate locally responsible for ciguatera poisoning, Ostreopsis lenticularis.

Coral Reef Biology/Long Term Ecological Research (Dr. Paul Yoshioka, Dr.E. Weil, Dr. Morelock,)

Coral Reef Research at the DMS is aimed at assessing the status of coral reefs in Puerto Rico by the establishment of a comprehensive program in coral reef studies under the umbrella of a Long Term Ecological Research program. The research is relevant to the Island of Puerto Rico, and as it addresses hypotheses of global coral reef importance, its significance is substantially broader. Of immediate concern are the effects of pollution, land runoff and other effects of coastal development on coral reefs. Other aspects that are being or will be monitored include: transport processes, biogeochemical process, disturbances and interdependent relationships between coral reefs and other tropical coastal zone habitats as mediated by the movement of organisms

Numerical modeling in support of Marine Natural Hazard Mitigation in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Caribbean Region (Dr. Aurelio Mercado)

This research area is focused on:

1) The use of models like WAM, WaveWatch III, SWAN, CGWAVE, etc., evaluate the hazard due to hurricane-forced wind waves all around Puerto Rico and the USVI, with special emphasis on the determination of the vulnerability of ports, and other coastal infrastructure, to this hazard.

2) The use of numerical simulations to assess the coastal hazard due to different marine natural hazards

3) Actualization the coastal topography maps for Puerto Rico

4) Assessment of tsunami hazards for Puerto Rico other Caribbean locations.