Alberto Lindner is studying the systematics and evolution of hydrocorals using morphological and molecular biology methods for his Ph.D. thesis. He visited Race Rocks in the summer of 2002. The occurrence of hydrocoral in the low intertidal zone is an unusual occurrence on the Pacific West Coast and Alberto is aiming to help us in the identification of the different colored clones of the animal. His supervisor and advisors are Dr. Stephen Cairns (Smithsonian) , Dr.Cliff Cunningham ( Duke University) and Dr. Dale Calder (Royal Ontario Museum) This is part of a program of training young zoologists in established and new methods of systematics Alberto comes from Brazil, having completed a Master’s degree in the University of São Paulo.
Alberto was introduced to us by Dr. Anita Brinkmann-Voss
See Hydrocorals in The Race Rock Taxonomy
After returning to his lab and doing further analysis, Alberto reported that “It is pretty safe to say that the purple and pink color morphs of Stylaster corals (Allopora) from Race Rocks are the same species”. He has also noted the same result with deep-sea species from the Aleutians, as the orange and pink forms there do not separate the species.