Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences 17 Biological Station
St Georges, GE 01
Mail code: 7904
Campus: Tempe
Long Bio
Leo Blanco-Bercial received his doctorate from the University of Oviedo (Spain), where he studied plankton ecology and population dynamics in the Cantabrian Sea. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Connecticut, he added molecular tools to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of distribution, connectivity and evolution of marine plankton. He joined the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) in 2015. After the integration of BIOS in the Arizona State University, Blanco-Bercial is now assistant professor in the School of Ocean Futures and the School of Life Sciences.
Education
Ph.D. Biology, University of Oviedo, Spain 2002-2009
M.S. Biology, University of Oviedo, Spain 2000-2002
My research is focused on understanding how eukaryotic diversity (in its many facets) is originated, maintained and organized in the open ocean, and incorporating those eukaryotic diversity measurements into the main ocean biogeochemical models. Initially trained as a morphological taxonomist and ecologist, I integrate molecular and classical (morphological/image) tools in order to address questions that cannot otherwise be resolved: Plankton Community diversity and its impact on present conditions and future changes in the ocean; Connectivity of populations and its consequences for adaptation and evolution; and Phylogenetic relationships, and their relationship to evolution, diversity and functionality.
