Megan I. McCuller

Collections Manager, Non-molluscan Invertebrates
megan.mcculler@naturalsciences.org

11 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
919-707-8857

Education

  • M.S. in Zoology, University of New Hampshire, 2012
  • B.S. in Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 2008

Research Interests

Megan’s interests lie broadly with the historical biogeography of introduced marine invertebrates. More specifically, Megan focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of small colonial animals of the phylum Bryozoa. Bryozoans are an incredibly common member of most marine communities and are thus likely pervasive as “non-traditional” specimens in museum collections. That is, bryozoans may be found on barnacles, crab carapaces, coral skeletons, and other museum specimens that are not catalogued as bryozoans. Indeed this is true for many other invertebrate groups! These non-traditional specimens can give a more complete view of historical community structures.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • McCuller MI, Carlton JT (2018) Transoceanic rafting of Bryozoa (Cyclostomata , Cheilostomata , and Ctenostomata) across the North Pacific Ocean on Japanese tsunami marine debris. Aquatic Invasions 13(1): 137–162
  • McCuller MI, Carlton JT, Geller JB (2018) Bugula tsunamiensis n. sp. (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata, Bugulidae) from Japanese tsunami marine debris landed in the Hawaiian Archipelago and the Pacific Coast of the USA. Aquatic Invasions 13(1): 163–171
  • Carlton JT, Chapman JW, Geller JB, Miller JA, Ruiz GM, Carlton DA, McCuller MI, Treneman NC, Steves BP, Breitenstein RA, Lewis R, Bilderback D, Bilderback D, Haga T, Harris LH (2018) Ecological and biological studies of ocean rafting: Japanese tsunami marine debris in North America and the Hawaiian Islands. Aquatic Invasions 13(1): 1–9
  • Carlton JT, Chapman JW, Geller JB, Miller JA, Carlton DA, McCuller MI, Treneman NC, Steves BP, Ruiz GM (2017) Tsunami-driven rafting: Transoceanic species dispersal and implications for marine biogeography. Science 357(6358): 1402–1406, doi: 10.1126/SCIENCE.AAO1498

Collections

Fields of Research

Laboratories