The final lecture in the Bishop Museum's coral reef lecture series, "Into the Twilight Zone: Exploring the Deep Coral Reefs," will be presented by underwater explorer Richard Pyle at 6 p.m. June 12 in the museum's Atherton Halau.

Parking and admission are free.

Bishop Museum is taking part the ongoing "International Year of the Coral Reef" with a research seminar series lecture focused on coral reef ecology featuring noted researchers and experts in the field. The program is sponsored in part by Outrigger Reef on the Beach and the Kohala Center.

Coral reef habitat extends from the surface of tropical seas down to a depth of about 500 feet (150 meters), but only the upper one-third of this habitat has been thoroughly explored. The remaining two-thirds of coral-reef habitat, which lies at depths beyond what can be safely accessed with conventional scuba gear, remains almost completely unknown.

Using advanced, high-tech diving gear and special gas mixtures, a team of marine biologists has begun to investigate the deep coral reefs, and have discovered more than a hundred new species of fishes. Pyle will describe how a multi-institutional team of scientists in Hawai'i are collaborating to document the deep coral reefs off Maui using state-of-the-art technologies.

For more information about Bishop Museum's research seminar series, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.