Philip Bucolo

Dr. Phil Bucolo is an algal ecologist and academic educator in the Department of Biological Sciences and member of the Environment Program since 2016.  As an instructor, Dr. Bucolo utilizes many active learning techniques rooted in the use of the scientific process to teach biological concepts.  He clearly states learning objectives, promotes open discussions and debate, and implements a collaborative pedagogy conducive for comprehension and practical application.  Dr. Bucolo’s enthusiasm, energy, expertise, and personal research experiences throughout a number of exotic marine habitats inspires a classroom culture that is both fascinating and challenging for his students.  His research endeavors focus on algal ecophysiology, and the biochemical and ecological drivers of lower trophic level communities in aquatic systems.  Specifically, he examines primary and secondary production, predator-prey relationships, biofouling, effects of disturbances on environmental processes, and the chemical ecology of subtidal communities.  Dr. Bucolo’s research experiences have included investigations throughout Louisiana’s wetlands, coastal Gulf of Mexico from south Texas to the tropics, and subtidal systems along the Antarctic Peninsula and the Alaskan Arctic.  Dr. Bucolo is always seeking new research endeavors and promoting undergraduate research interests so stop by his office for an ecological chat.

Collaborative Research with Students

Dr. Bucolo is very interested in collaborative research with motivated and reliable Loyola students in good academic standing.  His lab group aims to assess algal community succession, metabolic contributions, threats associated with algal blooms, and how water quality alterations correlate with algal patterns throughout South Louisiana’s threatened wetlands.  Dr. Bucolo is particularly interested in how algal community dynamics are impacted by natural and anthropogenically driven disturbances such as hydrological alteration, salinization, invasive species, land subsidence, sever weather instances, and eutrophication in the highly engineered and rapidly degrading South Louisiana wetlands.