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Richard L. Pyle, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer
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Richard received his Ph.D. from the Zoology Department of the University of Hawaii, studying the systematics of marine angelfishes (Pomacanthidae) under the guidance of John E. Randall. He has been scuba diving since the age of 13, and has traveled to many localities throughout the Indo-Pacific to observe and collect coral-reef fishes. Since 1989, he has been pioneering the use of advanced mixed-gas scuba diving techniques to dive to depths of 200-500 feet in search of new species of fishes and other marine organisms. This work has uncovered a much larger scope of undiscovered biodiversity within the deep-reef environment than had previously been expected. He has logged hundreds of hours of dive time on the Cis-Lunar MK-4P and MK-5P closed-circuit rebreathers, and is an IANTD-certified Level-II Instructor for that unit. Richard's other focus is the development of computer database systems, primarily to manage systematic and biogeographic information; he is an active participant in various national and international efforts to develop standards for biological databases. He works both as an Associate Zoologist and as Database Coordinator for the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, which is a partner of the Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN), part of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). He has published over 100 scientific, technical, and popular articles on topics primarily relating to ichthyology and advanced diving techniques. |
