Diego Moreno Moran wants to go deep among the cold water corals
Diego Moreno Moran is new PhD student at the Department. After studies in Mexico, the Canary Islands and Mallorca as well as in Portugal, he has now arrived at Tjärnö Marine Laboratory. He will devote the next few years to unfathomed corals deep down in our cold and dark oceans.
What are you going to do here?
"I’m here to do my PhD. I’ll be working on the reproductive ecology of cold-water corals, mentored by Rhian Waller. The idea is to look into the basic biological aspects of these organisms so we can understand them better, and by doing so, better conservation approaches could be designed. We will be targeting some local species and other species abroad, collaborating with other institutions."
What did you do before?
"I have been passionate about nature and the ocean since I can´t remember. I started my Bachelor's in Biology at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. During this time, I had the chance to do an international mobility to the Canary Islands where I took some courses at the Faculty of marine sciences. At the end of my Bachelor, I worked on tropical coral reefs and remote sensing at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. I used satellite images and scientific diving to predict the sea bottoms off the Yucatan Peninsula."
"Later, I did my master's thesis at the Spanish institute of Oceanography in Mallorca. There, I worked on the deep-sea communities of sponges and cold-water corals on the Ormonde seamount, around 190 km off the southwest coast of Portugal. Now for my PhD, I wanted to continue on the cold-water coral line and study these incredible and unfathomed organisms."
What do you like to do in your free time?
"I enjoy time in nature. I usually go there to do sports like mountain biking, climbing, hiking, freediving or running. I also enjoy going out with my camera to take pictures of nature. Actually, after my BSc, I worked as a nature photographer, and as scientific diver and dive shop assistant. When I’m at home I usually watch movies, read, study new things or skills and play video games. Nowl let’s see what new hobbies Sweden can bring!"
Something else you would like to share?
"I first came to the marine station in Tjärnö in the summer of 2019, through the international master´s program IMBRSea. I was really looking forward to come back! It’s been a long process but I very much appreciate the warm welcoming of everyone at the station. Now, I’m looking forward to settling here and familiarizing myself with living in Sweden and Tjärnö, so we can start working with the coral spawning in the next months."
Interview: Susanne Liljenström