Moises A. Bernal
Department of Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor


Office: 311A Funchess Hall

Address: 101 Life Sciences Bldg.
Auburn University, AL 36849

Fax: (334) 844-1645

Email: mab0205@auburn.edu

Website


Education
Postdoctoral Fellow – State University of New York at Buffalo
2018-2019
Postdoctoral Fellow – King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
2016-2018
Ph.D. Marine Science – University of Texas, Austin
2009-2015
B.Sc Biology and Environmental Sciences - University of Panama
2003-2008


Research and Teaching Interests

Broadly, our lab focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary traits that determine how fish populations respond to natural and human-induced stressors, while elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with developmental and transgenerational acclimation. Specific questions that define our research interests are: 1) what are the metabolic drawbacks associated with ocean warming in marine fishes? 2) what is the acclimation capacity of marine fishes to projected climate change scenarios and what epigenetic mechanisms are involved? 3) What is the influence of environmental history on the response of fishes to fluctuating conditions? The ultimate goal of this integrative approach is to illuminate our understanding of the future of marine fish populations in a changing planet.
 
 


Selected Publications

1. Bernal MA*, CM Schunter*, R Lehmann, D Lightfood, J Rummer, P Munday and T Ravasi. 2020. Molecular Responses of Coral Reef Fishes to a Marine Heatwave. Science Advances. 6 (12), eaay3423. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay3423
 
2. Bernal MA, GB Dixon, MV Matz and LA Rocha. 2019. Comparative transcriptomics of sympatric species of coral reef fishes (genus: Haemulon). PeerJ 7, e6541. doi:10.7717/peerj.6541.
 
3. Bernal MA, JM Donelson, HD Veilleux, T Ryu, PL Munday and T Ravasi. 2018. Metabolic and molecular consequences of step-wise temperature increase across generations in a coral reef fish. Molecular Ecology. doi:10.1111/mec.14884.
 
4. Bernal MA, MR Gaither, B Simison and LA Rocha. 2017. Hybridization and divergent selection shaped the evolutionary history of sympatric sister-species of coral reef fishes (genus: Haemulon). Molecular Ecology 26, 639-652. doi:10.1111/mec.13937.
 
5. Gaither MR, MA Bernal, R Coleman, B Bowen, S Jones, WB Simison and LA Rocha. 2015.Genomic signatures of geographic isolation and natural selection in coral reef fishes. Molecular Ecology 24, 1543-1557. doi:10.1111/mec.13129.

Google Scholar Page



Courses

Undergraduate Graduate
BIOL 3040 Biology of Marine Systems
BIOL 5440/6440 Climate Change Physiology and Evolution





Last updated: 10/14/2021