Stephen D. CairnsResearch Zoologist

• Phone: 202-633-1765
• Fax: 202-633-0182
• E-mail: cairnss@si.edu


• Mailing Address:
  Smithsonian Institution
  PO Box 37012, MRC 163
  Washington, DC 20013-7012
  


• Courier Delivery Address:
  Smithsonian Institution
  National Museum of Natural History
  10th and Constitution Ave, NW
  Washington, DC 20560-0163
  

Responsibilities: Research Zoologist and Curator of Corals

Education:


Louisiana State University in New Orleans (UNO), B.S., 1971.
University of Miami (RSMAS) (Biological Oceanography), M.S., 1973.
University of Miami (RSMAS) (Biological Oceanography), PhD., 1976.

Research Interests: Taxonomy, zoogeography, functional morphology, mineralogy, and evolution of the Stylasteridae, and deep-water Scleractinia and Octocorallia.

Professional Activities: Past-president, current Secretary and Invertebrate editor of the Biological Society of Washington and Associate editor of the Atoll Research Bulletin. Tree of Life web project, Scleractinia, Octocoral research center.

Recent Publications:
Taylor, M. L., Cairns, Stephen D., Agnew, D. J. and Rogers, A. D. 2013. A revision of the genus Thouarella Gray, 1870 (Octocorallia: Primnoidae), including an illustrated dichotomous key, a new species description, and comments on Plumarella Gray, 1870 and Dasystenella Versluys, 1906. Zootaxa, 3602(1): 1-105. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3602.1

Baco, Amy R. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2012. Comparing molecular variation to morphological species designations in the deep-sea coral Narella reveals new insights into seamount coral ranges. PLoS ONE, 7(9): 1-15. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045555

Cairns, Stephen D. 2012. New primnoid genus and species (Alcyonacea: Primnoidae) from the southwestern Atlantic. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 125(2): 180-188. doi:10.2988/11-35.1

Appeltans, Ward, Ahyong, Shane T, Anderson, Gary, Angel, Martin V, Artois, Tom, Bailly, Nicolas, Bamber, Roger, Barber, Anthony, Bartsch, Ilse, Berta, Annalisa, Blazewicz-Paszkowycz, Magdalena, Bock, Phil, Boxshall, Geoff, Boyko, Christopher B, Brandão, Simone Nunes, Bray, Rod A, Bruce, Niel L, Cairns, Stephen D, Chan, Tin-Yam, Cheng, Lanna, Collins, Allen G, Cribb, Thomas, Curini-Galletti, Marco, Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid, Davie, Peter J F., et al 2012. The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity. Current Biology, 22(23): 2189-2202. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.036

Jameson, Stephen C. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2012. Neotypes for Porites porites (Pallas, 1766) and Porites divaricata LeSueur, 1820 and remarks on other western Atlantic species of Porites (Anthozoa: Scleractinia). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 125(2): 189-207. doi:10.2988/11-07.1

Kitahara, Marcelo V., Cairns, Stephen D., Stolarski, Jaroslaw and Miller, David J. 2012. Deltocyathiidae, an early-diverging family of Robust corals (Anthozoa, Scleractinia). Zoologica Scripta, 42(2): 201-212. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00575.x

Kitahara, Marcelo V., Stolarski, J., Cairns, Stephen D., Benzoni, F., Stake, J. L. and Miller, D. J. 2012. The first modern solitary Agariciidae (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) revealed by molecular and microstructural analysis. Invertebrate Systematics, 26(3): 303-315. doi:10.1071/IS11053

Stolarski, Jaroslaw, Kitahara, Marcelo V., Miller, David J., Cairns, Stephen D., Maciej, Mazur and Meibom, Anders 2011. The ancient evolutionary origins of Scleractinia revealed by azooxanthellate corals. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11(316): 1-10.

Cairns, Stephen D. 2011. A Revision of the Primnoidae (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) from the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 634: 1-55. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.634

Cairns, Stephen D. and Lindner, Alberto 2011. A Revision of the Stylasteridae (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Filifera) from Alaska and adjacent Waters. ZooKeys, 158: 1-88. doi:10.3897/zookeys.158.1910

Cairns, Stephen D. 2011. Global Diversity of the Stylasteridae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Athecatae). PLoS ONE, 6(7): e21670

Janiszewska, K., Stolarski, J., Benzerara, K., Meibom, A., Mazur, M., Kitahara, Marcelo V. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2011. A unique skeletal microstructure of the deep-sea micrabaciid scleractinian corals. Journal of Morphology, 272: 191-203.

Sammarco, P. W., Porter, S. A. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2010. A new coral species introduced into the Atlantic Ocean – Tubastraea micranthus (Ehrenberg 1834) (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Scleractinia): an invasive threat?. Aquatic Invasions, 5(2): 131-140.

Kitahara, Marcelo V., Cairns, Stephen D., Stolarski, J., Blair, D. and Miller, D. J. 2010. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) based on mitochondrial CO1 sequence data. PLOS One, 5(7): 1-9.

Cairns, Stephen D. 2010. Review of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Hawai'i and adjacent seamounts. Part 3: Genera Thouarella, Plumarella, Callogorgia, Fanellia, and Parastenella. Pacific Science, 64(3): 413-440.

Watson, J., deCook, S. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2010. Chapter 3: Phylum Cnidaria: Class Hydrozoa. In: deCook, S., New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates, Volume 1. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, pp.177-228.

Kitahara, Marcelo V., Cairns, Stephen D. and Miller, D. J. 2010. Monophyletic origin of Caryophyllia (Scleractinia, Caryophylliidae), with descriptions of six new species. Systematics and Biodiversity, 81(1): 91-118.

Cairns, Stephen D. and Bayer, Frederick M. 2009. Chapter 13. Octocorallia (Cnidaria) of the Gulf of Mexico. In: Felder, Darryl L. and Camp, David K., Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Volume 1. Biodiversity.. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M Press, pp.321-331.

Cairns, S.D., Gerhswin, L.A., Brook, F., Pugh, P.R., Dawson, E.W., Ocaña V, O., Vervoort, W., Williams, G., Watson, J., Opresko, D.M., Schuchert, P., Hine, P.M., Gordon, D.P., Campbell, H.J., Wright, A.J., Sanchez, J. and Fautin, D.G. 2009. Phylum Cnidaria; Corals, Medusae, Hydroids, Myxozoa. In: Gordon, D.P., New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, pp.59-101.

Roberts, J.M., Wheeler, A., Freiwald, A. and Cairns, S.D. 2009. Cold-Water Corals: The Biology and Geology of Deep-Sea Coral Habitats Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 334 pages.

Cairns, Stephen D. and Bayer, Frederick M. 2009. A generic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the Primnoidae (Cnidaria: Octocorallia). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 629: 1-79. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.629

Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. Review of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Hawai’i and adjacent seamounts. Part 2. Genera Paracalyptrophora Kinoshita, 1908; Candidella Bayer, 1954; and Calyptrophora Gray, 1866. Pacific Science, 63(3): 413-448.

Reyes, Javier, Santodomingo, Nadia and Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. Caryophylliidae (Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean. Zootaxa, 2262: 1-39.

Cairns, Stephen D. and Fautin, D. G. 2009. Chapter 12. Cnidaria: Introduction. In: Felder, Darryl L. and Camp, David K., Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Volume 1. Biodiversity.. College Station, Texas.: Texas A&M Press, pp.315-319.

Cairns, Stephen D., Jaap, W. C. and Lang, J. C. 2009. Chapter 14. Scleractinia (Cnidaria) of the Gulf of Mexico. In: Felder, Darryl L. and Camp, David K., Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Volume 1. Biodiversity.. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M Press, pp.333-346.

Calder, D. R. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. Chapter 19. Hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) of the Gulf of Mexico. In: Felder, Darryl L. and Camp, David K., Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Volume 1. Biodiversity.. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M Press, pp.381-394.

Kitahara, Marcelo V. and Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. A revision of the genus Deltocyathus Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 (Scleractinia, Caryophylliidae) from New Caledonia, with the description of a new species. Zoosystema, 31(2): 233-248.

Ofwegen, L., Breedy, Odalisca and Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. Octocorallia - Octocorals. In: Haussermann, V. and Forsterra, G., Marine Benthic Fauna of Chilean Patagonia. Santiago, Chile: Nature in Focus, pp.177-214.

Cairns, Stephen D. 2009. Influence of Frederick (Ted) M. Bayer on deep-water octocoral research. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 397: 7-10, 18 supp..



Full Publication List