Diego Bernal

University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

Diego Bernal's research interests focus on fish biology, more specifically, the comparative physiology of fishes. He is particularly interested in the comparison of the morphological, physiological, and biochemical specializations of high-performance fishes (i.e., tunas, billfishes, and lamnid sharks). He is interested in understanding the progression of character-state acquisition leading to the suite of specializations present in these derived high-performance marine fishes and addressing questions on the biological mechanisms that distinguish high-performance fishes from all other fishes. He is also interested in how fishes respond to angling-induced stress. Specifically, the disruption to homeostasis in fishes (i.e., tunas, billfishes and lamnid sharks) that undergo intensive bouts of burst swimming. Of particular interest is the application of new molecular techniques to determine the presence of chaperone protein expression in the red blood cells, locomotor and myocardial tissues. In summary, he is interested in questions that involve the physiological specializations present in the most active species of fishes, and what the energetic costs and advantages may be for maintaining the adaptations supporting high-performance swimming and for dealing with angling-induced stress.