Dr Pim Bongaerts

McCosker Chair of Aquatic Biology, California Academy of Sciences

Pim is a Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He studies the biodiversity and evolution of tropical reef corals, from close to the surface to well into the twilight zone.

As a molecular ecologist, he combines genomics and field ecology to understand how corals diversify and adapt to different and changing environmental conditions.

Pim is known for his pioneering work on “mesophotic coral ecosystems”, and as former lead scientist for the XL Catlin Seaview Survey he conducted a large number of deep reef expeditions in both the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, using manned submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, and deep technical diving.