“When under the ocean surface, most people are focused on and fascinated by the fish. But I was more interested in what was on the floor, under the fish,” explained a field biologist at a science colloquium lecture on Nov. 11.

Malcolm Hill who is an associate dean and biology professor at the University of Richmond presented his lecture “Symbiotic associations on coral reefs.”

Hill had previously worked with Jeremy Weisz, a biology professor at Linfield.

“We met at a meeting in Atlanta, talked about ways to collaborate, and after sometime we have started working on this new project together,” Hill said.

Through his connection with Professor Weisz, he was able to join the biology students at Linfield and provide a lecture.

Hill discussed the significance of sponges and how algae and cells work within them.

Hill introduced students to new inquire regarding the give and take system between sponges and the algae he knows as symbiodinium.

His interest in the organism stems from when he was in college. While making observations of fish in class, he noticed the sponges and coral and how they were all sorts of colors.

But there was one particular sponge that stood out. It happened to be brown unlike any of the others and he wanted to know why.

“When I asked my professor, he said that wasn’t what they were focused on and it was that way just because,” Hill said.

Unsatisfied with the answer he received, Hill began looking into information about the organisms and now has a career that stemmed from it.

“If something bothers you that much, don’t listen to your professor. Of course listen to them the rest of the time though,” Hill joked.

It turns out that the sponge lacked symbiodinium.

With research going over the basics of sponges, algae cells, host cells, the ocean temperature and genetic regulation and with a question such as: “Why don’t all sponges have symbiodinium and what would happen if we injected some into the average sponge?” the professor has been able to make connections and hypotheses.

With the water temperature in temperate and tropical marine systems changing, the coral has been suffering from what is known as “coral bleaching.”

The sponges that contain symbiodinium get damaged from the temperature changes, but are able to recover.

Hill has now begun questioning if this information could help save coral in some way.

Hill said he is most interested in, “How climate change relates to symbiosis and how sponge research can help explain it.”

Many of the students who were interested in this sort of practice were eager to ask questions about what all of this meant for the future.

Hill has yet to answer the question fully, but says the project is in the making.