Robert Roer, Ph.D.

University of N.C. at Wilmington

Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences

Dean of the Graduate School

Sc.B. - Brown University - 1974

Ph.D. - Duke University - 1979

Courses:

Research:

My field of interest is animal physiology, particularly in the areas of biomineralization, osmoregulation and membrane transport. The major emphasis of my research involves the control of calcification in the Crustacea and the mechanisms of ion translocation to and from skeletons. Along with Drs. Thomas Shafer and Richard Dillaman, and with the support of the National Science Foundation, I am studying how blue crabs control the onset of mineralization of their exoskeletons after they molt. We are investigating the biochemical, physiological and morphological changes that take place following the molt to determine the mechanisms that prevent premature hardening of the cuticle before molting and promote hardening afterwards.  In collaboration with Drs. Thomas Shafer, Richard Dillaman, Stephen Kinsey, Scott Quackenbush and Martin Posey, I am investigating the osmoregulatory and ion regulatory mechanisms in juvenile blue crabs and their energetic costs.  Graduate students in my lab have worked on problems involving crustacean mineralization, crustacean gill structure and ion transport, crustacean salinity and temperature preference, hormonal control of molting in isopods, and bone physiology.

 

Recent Publications:

Roer, R.D. and R.M. Dillaman (1993) Molt-related change in integumental structure and function. In: The Crustacean Integument - Morphology and Biochemistry. M. Horst and J.A. Freeman, eds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 1-37.

Dillaman, R.M. and R.D. Roer (1993) Bone blood flow and spaceflight osteopenia. In: Bone and Bone Marrow Circulation in Normal and Pathological Conditions. A. Schoutens, S.P.F. Hughes, J. Gardeniers and J. Arlet eds., Plenum Press, New York. pp. 185-194.

Marlowe, R.L., R.M. Dillaman and R.D. Roer (1994) Lectin binding by crustacean cuticle: The cuticle of Callinectes sapidus throughout the molt cycle, and the intermolt cuticle of Procambarus clarkii and Ocypode quadrata. J. Crust. Biol. 14:231-246.

Shafer, T.H., R.D. Roer, C.G. Miller and R.M. Dillaman (1994) Postecdysial changes in the protein and glycoprotein composition of the cuticle of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. J. Crust. Biol. 14:210-219.

Roer, R.D. and R.M. Dillaman (1994) Decreased femoral arterial flow during simulated microgravity in the rat. J. Appl. Physiol. 76:2125-2129.

Shafer, T.H., R.D. Roer, C. Midgett-Luther and T.A. Brookins (1995) Postecdysial cuticle alteration in the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Synchronous changes in glycoproteins and mineral nucleation. J. Exp. Zool. 271:171-182.

Greenaway, P., R.M. Dillaman and R.D. Roer (1995) Quercitin-dependent ATPase activity in the hypodermal tissue of Callinectes sapidus during the moult cycle. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 111A:303-312.

Keanini, R.G., R.D. Roer and R.M. Dillaman (1995) A theoretical model of circulatory interstitial fluid flow and species transport within porous cortical bone. J. Biomechanics 28:901-914.

Lee, K.J., R.D. Watson and R.D. Roer (1998) Molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) mRNA levels and ecdysteroid titer during a molt cycle of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.  Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 249: 624-627.

Coblentz, F.E., T.H. Shafer and R.D. Roer (1998) Cuticular proteins from the blue crab alter in vitro calcium carbonate mineralization.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 121B: 349-360.

Roer, R.D. K.E. Halbrook and T.H. Shafer (2001) Glycosidase activity in the postecdysial cuticle of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 128B: 683-690.

Pierce, D.C., K.D. Butler and R.D. Roer (2001) Effects of exogenous N-acetylhexosamindase on the structure and mineralization of the postecdysial exoskeleton of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 128B: 691-700.

Watson, R.D., K.J. Lee, S. Qiu, M. Luo, H.R. Umphrey, R.D. Roer and E. Spaziani (2001) Molecular cloning, expression, and tissue distribution of crustacean molt-inhibiting hormone.  Am. Zoologist 41: 407-417.

 

Current Research Grants:

NSF - Juvenile Blue Crab Use of Low Salinity Areas: Costs and Benefits - $842,675 for Sep.  1999 - Aug. 2003. (With M.H. Posey, R.M. Dillaman, S.T. Kinsey, L.S. Quackenbush & T.H. Shafer)

NSF - The Blue Crab Exoskeleton - A Model System for Studying Control of Biomineralization -  $312,873 for Sep. 2001 - Aug. 2004. (With R.M. Dillaman, T.H. Shafer & MA.. McCartney)

 

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Updated on 08 August 2003

Robert D. Roer, roer@uncwil.edu