Larry Madin is a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, MA. He received his AB degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD from UC Davis, and has been at WHOI since 1974.
His principal research interests are in the biology of oceanic and deep-sea zooplankton and fishes, with special emphasis on medusae, siphonophores, ctenophores and pelagic tunicates. He was among the first biologists to use SCUBA and submersibles for the in-situ study of the oceanic plankton.
Current research projects include population dynamics and biogeochemical impact of salp blooms, the impact of predation on larval fishes on Georges Bank, seasonal distribution of macroplankton and fishes in the Arabian Sea, biodiversity of oceanic plankton in the Sargasso Sea, and development of new instrumentation for sampling and exploration.
Madin is the past Chair of the WHOI Biology Department, and currently director of the Ocean Life Institute (http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/oli/index.htm), a new structure within WHOI designed to support innovative, interdisciplinary research in ocean biology, and to promote discussion and communication about current topics of broad importance to society.
Madin also holds an adjunct appointment at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and serves on the advisory board on Marine Biodiversity for Conservation International. He is a member of AGU, ASLO, The Oceanography Society and Sigma Xi.
