John A. West

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Date and Place of Birth: 4 February 1939, Orofino, Idaho, USA
Citizenship: Australia, USA
Education: B.A. (Biology) 1961. Western Washington University, Bellingham
                    Ph.D. (Botany) 1966. University of Washington, Seattle

Professional Positions:
Assistant Professor of Botany, University of California, Berkeley. 1966-1972.
Associate Professor of Botany, University of California, Berkeley. 1972-1977.
Professor of Botany, University of California, Berkeley. 1977-1994.
Professor of Botany, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley. 1994-present.
Professorial Fellow, School of Botany, University of Melbourne, 1994-present.

Research activities
Forty-five years of research on marine algal systematics, ecophysiology, electron microscopy, carbohydrate and pigment chemistry, laboratory culture methods of marine algae. Recent focus on the ecophysiology, molecular biology and cell biology of various mangrove-associated red algae including Bostrychia and Caloglossa.
Many years of cooperative research and publications with fellow phycologists from USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Japan, Korea and Philippines. Future research plans are to continue worldwide collection and laboratory culture of algae to assess the genetic diversity of species common to the mangroves and related habitats. Cryptic species are rampant in these habitats. Also we will continue molecular research on how asexual populations of red algal species develop from sexual populations world wide. Lastly we continue research on the mechanisms of cell motility in red algae.
236 publications including 195 research papers in refereed journals, 11 chapters in books and 30 book reviews.

Publications 2006
Zuccarello, G.C. and West, J.A. 2006. Molecular phylogeny of the subfamily Bostrychioideae (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta): Subsuming Stictosiphonia and highlighting polyphyly in species of Bostrychia. Phycologia 45: 24-36.

West, J.A., Zuccarello, G.C., Hommersand, M.H., Karsten, U., Goers, S. 2006.
Observations on Bostrychia radicosa comb. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta). Phycol. Res. 54: 1-14.

Wilson, S.M., Pickett-Heaps, J.D. and West J.A. 2006. Vesicle transport and the cytoskeleton in the unicellular red alga Glaucosphaera vacuolata. Phycol. Res. 54: 15-20.

West, J.A. Klochkova, T.A., Kim, G.H. and Loiseaux de Goër, S. 2006. Olpidiopsis sp., an oomycete from Madagascar that infects Bostrychia and other red algae: Host species susceptibility. Phycol. Res. 54: 73-86.

Martin, E., Pickett-Heaps, J.D., Kim, G. H. and West, J.A. 2006. Time-lapse video microscopy of wound recovery and reproduction in the siphonous green alga Derbesia tenuissima. Algae 21: 109-124.

West, Kathryn A., West, John A. and Lee, Yongpil. 2006. Reproduction of Rhodochorton purpureum from Jeju Island, Korea and San Juan Island, Washington, USA in laboratory culture. Algae 21:103-107.

Vis, M.L., Entwisle, T.J, West , J.A. and Ott, F.D. 2006. Ptilothamnion richardsii (Rhodophyta) is a Chantransia stage of Batrachospermum. Eur. J. Phycol. 41: 125-130.

Klotchkova, T.A., Kang, S-H., Cho, G.Y., Pueschel, C.M., West, J.A. and Kim, G. H. 2006. Biology of a terrestrial green alga Chlorococcum sp. (Chlorococcales, Chlorophyta) collected from the Miruksazi stupa in Korea. Phycologia 45: 349-358.

Ackland, J.A., West, J.A., Zuccarello, G.C. Scott, J. and Broom, J. 2006.Biology of Porphyra pulchella sp. nov. from Australia and New Zealand. Algae 21: 193-208.

Kikuchi, N., West, J.A., Kajimura, M. and Shin, J.A. 2006. Goniotrichopsis reniformis
(Kajimura) Kikuchi comb. Nov. (Stylonematales, Rhodophyta) from Japan. Algae 21:185-191.

Zuccarello, G.C., West, J.A. and de Goer, S. 2006. Diversity of the Bostrychia radicans/ Bostrychia moritziana species complex (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) in the mangroves of New Caledonia. Cryptogamie, Algologie 27: 245-254.

Zuccarello, G.C., Critchley, A.T., Smith, J., Sieber, V.,Bleicher Lhonneur, G. and West, J.A. 2006. Systematics and genetic variation in commercial Kappaphycus and Eucheuma (Solieriaceae, Rhodophyta). Journal of Applied Phycology 18: 643-651.

Scott, J.L., Baca, B., Ott, F.D and West, J.A. 2006 Light and electron microscopic observations on Erythrolobus coxiae gen.et sp. nov. (Porphyrideophyceae, Rhodophyta) from Texas U.S.A. Algae 21: 407-416.

Zuccarello, G.C., Buchanan, J. and West, J.A. 2006. Increased sampling for inferring phylogeographic patterns in Bostrychia radicans/B. moritziana (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) in the eastern USA. J. Phycol. 42: 1349-1352

ARC Small Grant, University of Melbourne. 1995. Culture of marine algae.
ARC Small Grant, University of Melbourne. 1998. Video microscopy of sexual plasmogamy in Bostrychia.
ARC Large Grant, (with R. King and G. C. Zuccarello-UNSW).1999-2001. 'Evolutionary Studies in Red Algae (Rhodophyta) as exemplified by the tribe Bostrychoideae (Ceramiales)
ARC Small Grant, University of Melbourne. 2000. Time-lapse video microscopy of cell movement in red algae.
ABRS, University of Melbourne. 2002-2005. Molecular phylogeny and morpho-taxonomy of the Bangiophyceae in Australia.
Hermon Slade Foundation 2005-2007. Why do red algae lose their sexuality and where has it occurred?