Education:
PhD, Harvard University, 1972
AB, Indiana University, 1968

Current Position:
Professor and Chairman, Department of Biology, UMASS - Boston
Phone 617-287-6678 / FAX 617-287-6650
e-mail: michael.rex@umb.edu

Research Interests:
My research is centered on the ecology and evolution of deep-sea benthic communities. It includes analyses of bathymetric and global-scale patterns of biodiversity and their causes. We are using satellite imagery to examine the relationship of surface production to community structure in the deep sea at different temporal and spatial scales. Geographic variation in body size of mollusks is being explored to study adaptation to the deep-sea environment. Multivariate analyses of shell architecture and mitochondrial DNA are being employed to study patterns of population differentiation in deep-sea mollusks. Adaptive radiation and taxon cycles are being investigated by documenting patterns of taxonomic diversity. A major long-term research goal is to synthesize patterns of distribution, geographic variation, taxonomic composition and life histories to formulate a model of evolution in deep-sea invertebrates.

Current Grant Support:
Environmental Biology: Conservation of Biodiversity. The National Science Foundation - Graduate Research Traineeships (GRE-9552836), funded for five years starting 9/7/95, $562,500. M.A. Rex (PI), K.S. Bawa, E. Gallagher (Co-PI's).

Deep-Sea Biodiversity: Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Conservation Strategies. A National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Working Group. The National Science Foundation (DEB-94-21535),funded 3/11/97, $58,384. Michael A. Rex & Donald R. Strong, Jr. (Co-PI's).

Genetic Variation in Widely Distributed Deep-Sea Mollusks: The Role of Oceanographic and Topographic Features. The National Science Foundation. Biological Oceanography. Submitted 8/15/97, $368,817, R.J. Etter (PI), M.A. Rex (Co-PI).

Selected Publications:
Chase, M.C., R.J. Etter, M.A. Rex and J.M. Quattro. 1998. Bathymetric patterns of genetic variation in a deep-sea bivalve. Marine Biology (in press).

Rex, M.A. and R. J. Etter. 1998. Bathymetric patterns of body size: Implications for deep-sea biodiversity. In C.R. Smith, L.S. Mullineaux and L.A. Levin, eds. Deep-Sea Biodiversity: Patterns and Processes. Deep-Sea Research II (in press).

Chase, M.C., R.J. Etter, M.A. Rex and J.M. Quattro. 1997. Extraction and amplification of mitochondrial DNA from formalin-fixed tissue from deep-sea mollusks. Biotechniques 24: 243-247.

Rex, M.A., R.J. Etter and C.T. Stuart. 1997. Large-scale patterns of biodiversity in the deep-sea benthos. In R.F.G. Ormond, J.D. Gage and M.V. Angel, eds.. Marine Biodiversity: Patterns and Processes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 94-121.

Rex, M.A. 1997. An oblique slant on deep-sea biodiversity. Nature 385: 577-578.