Its been a privelege to film with Dr. Rhian Waller this week. Rhian is based at the Darling Marine Center which is the marine biology centre part of Maine University. Rhian completed her Ph.D. at Southampton Oceanography Center, UK, 2004.
Where she studied invertebrate reproduction and larval development, deep-sea biology, cold-water corals, biogeography, larval dispersal and population connectivity. Her research interests centre on the reproduction and development of cold-water and deep-sea invertebrates from around the globe, and how these animals are affected by both natural and anthropogenic environmental change. Her laboratory has projects from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many places in between. Though she primarily uses microscopy techniques (histology, SEM and TEM) they also use geographic databases and genetic techniques to examine biogeographic patterns of species dispersal and make hypotheses on larval transport mechanisms.
Rhian features regularly on the National Geographic channel.