Grice Marine Grice Marine Grice Marine Grice Marine Grice Marine Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory Laboratory College of College of College of College of College of Charleston Charleston Charleston Charleston Charleston 205 Fort Johnson 205 Fort Johnson 205 Fort Johnson 205 Fort Johnson 205 Fort Johnson Charleston, SC Charleston, SC Charleston, SC Charleston, SC Charleston, SC 29 29 29 29 29 4 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 2 Tel: 843 953-9200 Tel: 843 953-9200 Tel: 843 953-9200 Tel: 843 953-9200 Tel: 843 953-9200 F F F ax: 8 ax: 8 ax: 8 ax: 8 ax: 8 43 953-9 43 953-9 43 953-9 43 953-9 43 953-9 1 1 1 99 99 99 99 99 [email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected]Grice Logbook Grice Logbook Grice Logbook Grice Logbook Grice Logbook A Newsletter of the Grice Marine Laboratory and the Graduate Program in Marine Biology, College of Charleston Volume 5, No. 1 April, 2006 Undergraduate Research at Grice Just Gets Better The Grice Marine Lab has always been a haven for students, particularly in the summer. That’s the time of year when faculty members are happy to be doing field or lab work as a break from classroom teaching, graduate students can focus on honing their scientific skills and the Grice residence area is full of undergraduate students who come from near and far to do work with faculty mentors on independent research projects. The summer of 2005 brought a new crop of ten undergraduates from 7 different states, including 4 students from the College of Charleston! The group enjoyed Continued on page 6 Fisheries Management Informed by Science Management decisions in fisheries everywhere and especially in South Carolina are informed by a basic understanding of population structure. Dr. Erik Sotka was recently funded by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium to examine the genetic structure of gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis). This fish comprises one of the most important commercial and recreational fisheries in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico. The results of studies by Dr. Sotka and his students will provide insight to policymakers in South Carolina and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council on whether spawning aggregations from eastern Florida through North Carolina should be considered a panmictic single population or a series of relatively independent aggregations. If the postlarval fish that enter South Carolina waters come from spawning aggregations in the waters off the coast of South Carolina, management decisions could protect local aggregations. If the postlarval fish are produced by aggregations outside of South Carolina, then management would require protection measures throughout the southeastern U.S. Atlantic area. This genetic research will utilize the talents of Beth Cushman, a marine biology graduate student, and several College of Charleston undergraduates. Continued on page 3 this newsletter this newsletter this newsletter this newsletter this newsletter is a is a is a is a is a v v v ailable on- ailable on- ailable on- ailable on- ailable on- line at line at line at line at line at www.cofc.edu/ www.cofc.edu/ www.cofc.edu/ www.cofc.edu/ www.cofc.edu/ ~grice. ~grice. ~grice. ~grice. ~grice. Continued on page 6 Undergraduate researcher Hannah Giddens in- vestigates seaweed feeding preferences. Grice Researchers in the Antarctic In December of 2005, members of the DiTullio lab embarked on a research expedition to the Ross Sea, Antarctica on the polar ice breaker RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer. The group consisted of Dr. Jack DiTullio (chief scientist), Dr. Peter Lee, Aimee Neeley, Dr. Dave Jones, Brian Taylor, and Jay Francella. This cruise was part of an NSF-funded project named CORSACS, which stands for Controls on Ross Sea Algal Community Structure. The focus of this project is to examine the effects of various ecological and environmental factors, including carbon dioxide, iron, vitamins, trace-metals, and temperature, on algal community dynamics. In particular, they are interested in the community interactions and competition of 2 dominant algal CofC undergraduate re- searcher Kristen Greene studied the population biology of sharks.
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Grice LogbookGrice LogbookGrice LogbookGrice LogbookGrice LogbookA Newsletter of the Grice Marine Laboratory and theGraduate Program in Marine Biology, College of Charleston
Volume 5, No. 1April, 2006
Undergraduate Researchat Grice Just Gets Better
The Grice Marine Lab has always been ahaven for students, particularly in the summer.That’s the time of year when faculty membersare happy to be doing field or lab work as a break
from classroomt e a c h i n g ,graduate studentscan focus onhoning theirscientific skillsand the Griceresidence area isfull ofundergraduatestudents whocome from nearand far to do workwith facultymentors oni n d e p e n d e n tresearch projects.The summer of
2005 brought a new crop of ten undergraduatesfrom 7 different states, including 4 students fromthe College of Charleston! The group enjoyed
Continued on page 6
Fisheries ManagementInformed by Science
Management decisions in fisherieseverywhere and especially in South Carolina areinformed by a basic understanding of populationstructure. Dr. Erik Sotka was recently fundedby the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium toexamine the genetic structure of gag grouper(Mycteroperca microlepis). This fish comprisesone of the most important commercial andrecreational fisheries in the southeastern UnitedStates and the Gulf of Mexico. The results ofstudies by Dr. Sotka and his students will provideinsight to policymakers in South Carolina andthe South Atlantic Fishery Management Councilon whether spawning aggregations from easternFlorida through North Carolina should beconsidered a panmictic single population or aseries of relatively independent aggregations. If
the postlarval fish that enter South Carolinawaters come from spawning aggregations in thewaters off the coast of South Carolina,management decisions could protect localaggregations. If the postlarval fish are producedby aggregations outside of South Carolina, thenmanagement would require protection measuresthroughout the southeastern U.S. Atlantic area.This genetic research will utilize the talents ofBeth Cushman, a marine biology graduatestudent, and several College of Charlestonundergraduates.
In December of 2005, members of theDiTullio lab embarked on a research expeditionto the Ross Sea, Antarctica on the polar icebreaker RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer. The groupconsisted of Dr. Jack DiTullio (chief scientist),Dr. Peter Lee, Aimee Neeley, Dr. Dave Jones,Brian Taylor, and Jay Francella. This cruise waspart of an NSF-funded project named CORSACS,which stands for Controls on Ross Sea AlgalCommunity Structure. The focus of this projectis to examine the effects of various ecologicaland environmental factors, including carbondioxide, iron, vitamins, trace-metals, andtemperature, on algal community dynamics. Inparticular, they are interested in the communityinteractions and competition of 2 dominant algal
CofC undergraduate re-searcher Kristen Greenestudied the populationbiology of sharks.
Alumni NotesMark Caldwell (1986): After obtaining hisdegree, Mark began his career with the SouthCarolina Coastal Council (now Ocean andCoastal Resource Management) in Myrtle Beach.He served as their biologist until 1989 and thenas their Regional Permit Administrator. In 1998Mark returned to Charleston to serve as thePermit Coordinator and Senior Biologist forOCRM. In June 2003 he transferred to the USFish and Wildlife Service. As a Fish and WildlifeBiologist, he serves as the Service’stransportation liaison for South Carolina. Hisprimary duties are to review proposed, federallyfunded transportation projects for impacts tosensitive habitat or threatened and endangeredspecies. Mark met his wife, Joan, when he wasa student at Grice and has been married 19years. They have one child, Lindsey, who isnow in high school.Tim Zimmerman (1992): Tim recently receivedhis Ph.D. from the University of California,Berkeley in Science Education. His dissertationresearch focused on the design and testing ofmarine science curricula that help learners applyscientific concepts to marine conservationproblems. Incorporating both formal (classroom)and informal (aquarium) learning components,his research sheds light on techniques forpromoting learning across classroom andmuseum contexts. Tim has developed curriculaand provided educational support to multipleorganizations including the National GeographicSociety, NOAA, the Monterey Bay Aquarium,the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics program, theMonterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, theGlobal Footprint Network, the Coral Reef Alliance,and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Priorto entering Berkeley, Tim worked for the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency in Washington,D.C where he oversaw the national wetlandsenforcement program. He currently holds aposition at the University of California, Berkeley’sLawrence Hall of Science where he conductsresearch on communicating ocean science andis the program manager of the COSIA project.When not in the office, you can find him rockclimbing, birding, fly fishing, leading elephant sealwalks at Ano Nuevo State Reserve, or hiking/camping somewhere in the vast Californiawilderness.Jim Wessel (1997): Jim married Ms. ChristelLogan this past summer at the FernbankMuseum of Natural History in Atlanta GA. Theyare currently building a home in Seabrook TX,on Galveston Bay. Jim works for Wyle LifeSciences at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, asan environmental physiologist. His primary role
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Bob Podolsky Joins FacultyBob Podolsky is an evolutionary ecologist
who obtained his undergraduate degree inBiology from Princeton University. He earnedhis doctorate from the University of Washingtonstudying the fertilization ecology and larvalbiology of free-spawning marine invertebrates.Most recently, he was on the faculty at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In the fall of 2005, Bob and his wife AllisonWelch moved to Charleston with their cat Chuvaand dog Sienna. Allison also does research andteaches as a Research Associate and AdjunctFaculty member in the Biology Department.Bob and Allison were attracted to the Charlestonarea by its history, architecture, food andproximity to the ocean.
Bob currently teaches the InvertebrateZoology (Biol 337) undergraduate course. Asidefrom teaching about invertebrate phyla and theirevolutionary relationships, his course helpsstudents to develop an understanding of thefunctional, ecological, and historical factors thathave been responsible for generating invertebratebiodiversity. Students learn about how theanatomy and physiology of organisms changeduring their life cycles, as well as aboutinvertebrate community interactions and speciesconservation.
Bob’s research interests include thephysiological ecology of invertebratedevelopment in variable environments. Inparticular, he is studying how extreme
fluctuations of physicalvariables like temperatureand oxygen in intertidalhabitats affect thedevelopment andreproductive success ofintertidal reproducers. Athis main study site in FridayHarbor, Washington, eggmasses deposited on tidalflats are regularly triggeredby temperature fluctuations(> 23°C) to express “heatshock proteins,” which
protect the embryonic cells from heat damage.Integrating lab and field work, Bob will continueto build on his previous research, which has foundthat intertidal embryos typically experienceenvironmental conditions at their physiologicallimits. He is ultimately interested in howecological processes at different stages of thelife cycle interact to determine reproductivesuccess.
For more information about Dr. Podolsky’sresearch, teaching and publications, you can visithis website at www.cofc.edu/~podolskyr.
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Other aspects of population biology are ofinterest to Dr. Sotka. Did you know thatseaweeds have defenses against being eaten?Dr. Sotka was recently funded by the NationalScience Foundation to study the chemical andmorphological mechanisms that seaweeds useto protect themselves from being consumed byherbivores and the tolerance of the animals thatovercome these protections. This work isespecially important because it will allowscientists to understand the long-term responsesof marine organisms to increasing frequenciesof toxic algal blooms. Dr. Sotka states that, “Thiswork will help us predict the responses of localmarine communities to human-inducedperturbations, such as the introduction of non-native species.”
As an example, there is a mountain ofevidence that tropical seaweeds produce greatertypes and quantities of seaweed chemicaldefenses than temperate seaweeds. In contrast,there is little direct evidence on whether tropicalherbivores have evolved greater feedingpreferences for and performance on tropicalseaweeds relative to temperate herbivores. Usinga combination of field-sampling, laboratory rearingassays, and DNA phylogeography, the Sotka labwill directly compare the genetically-based
feeding responses of tropical and temperatepopulations toward chemically-rich tropicalseaweeds. Also ofinterest is whetherevolving feedingtolerance for ac h e m i c a l l y - r i c hseaweed comes at anenergetic cost to theanimal consumingthem. This work willbe spearheaded bymarine biologygraduate studentAmanda McCarty.
Hannah Giddens(B.S. in MarineBiology at the Collegeof Charleston) recentlypresented her work onthe herbivore Ampithoelongimana “Thermal stress alters the feedingpreferences for chemically-rich seaweeds amongnorthern, but not southern, herbivores” at theBenthic Ecology Meeting in Quebec City,Quebec (March 2006). This work is beingprepared for publication.
Molecular Manager at GMLWho is that guy in the field playing Frisbee?
It is David Wheeler, the new Lab Manager for theMolecular Core Facility (MCF); he is practicingfor his upcoming disc golf tournament. Davidjoined the staff of the Grice Marine Lab in Augustof 2005. He moved to Charleston with his wife,Emily, who is currently enrolled in the physician’sassistant program at MUSC. In addition to discgolf, David enjoys college football and takingCaptain, their retired racing greyhound, to thebeach.
David earned his bachelor’s degree inBiochemistry in 1997 from Texas Tech University.In 2002, he obtained his master’s in microbiologyworking on the plant pathogen bacterium, Erwiniachrysanthemi. He was previously employed bythe Agricultural Research Service, a departmentof the USDA, in Lubbock, Texas. He investigatedgene silencing in plants, primarily studying theeffects of viral proteins that inactivate genesilencing.
As the MCF lab manager, David isresponsible for supervising all lab activities. TheMolecular Core Facility offers DNA sequencingservices to local scientists on a fee per servicebasis. He runs these samples on the BeckmanCoulter CEQ8000. David maintains, calibrates,
operates and repairs all of the lab equipmentincluding image analysis system, fluorometer,thermalcycler,and mutationd e t e c t i o nsystem. Healso trains CofCfaculty andstudents to usethe complexinstrumentationand associatedc o m p u t e rsoftware in thelab. Davidtroubleshootsproblems withsamples andequipment andschedules useof lab facilitiesand equipment.
For moreinformation regarding the MCF, please visit themolecular core facility link on the Grice websitewww.cofc.edu/~grice.
Recent GPMB DegreesPatricia Blair – The Microbial World of theFlorida Red Tide Dinoflagellate Karenia brevis:Algicidal and Antagonistic Interactions (Advisor:Greg Doucette)Gaëlle Blanvillain – Using DiamondbackTerrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) as SentinelSpecies for Mercury Monitoring in EstuariesAlong the Southeast Coast of the U.S. (Advisor:David Owens)Stephanie Brunelle – Circadian Control in theDinoflagellate Karenia brevis: The Role of BlueLight and Characteristics of a Blue LightReceptor. (Advisor: Fran VanDolah)Cara Fiore – Characterization of Macrofaunal
Best Oral Presentation Award 2006recipient, Deb Zdankiewicz, with her facultyadvisor John Kucklick.
Assemblages Associated with Sponges andTunicates off the Southeastern United States(Advisor: Pam Jutte)Elizabeth Jones – ComparativePhylogeography, Population Structure, andExtended Maternal Care in Three IntertidalHaustoriid Amphipods from the Western NorthAtlantic (Advisor: Scott France)Eric Pante – Temporal Variation in a BahamianPatch Reef Community: The Decline of RainbowGardens Reef (Advisor: Phil Dustan)Stephanie Rexing – Structure and TrophicImportance of Benthic MacroinfaunalCommunities Around Live-bottom Reefs at Gray’sReef National Marine Sanctuary (Advisor: JeffHyland)Christina Schobernd – SubmersibleObservations of Southeastern U.S. Deep ReefFish Assemblages: Habitat Characteristics,Spatial and Temporal Variation, and ReproductiveBehavior (Advisor: George Sedberry)Zeb Schobernd – Species Assemblages,Distribution and Abundance of Serranids in theSouth Atlantic Bight, 1973-2004 (Advisor: GeorgeSedberry)Lorimar Serrano – Water Quality Restorationfor Coastal Subdivision Stormwater Ponds(Advisor: Marie DeLorenzo)Jacquie Shapo – An Evaluation of AntimicrobialActivity of the Western Atlantic Octocoral,Leptogorgia virgulata (Lamarck) (Advisor: SylviaGalloway)Julie Vecchio – Catch and Release in SouthCarolina’s Red Drum Recreational Fishery(Advisor: Charlie Wenner)
Mud Minnow WorkshopThe humble mud minnow or mummichog,
Fundulus spp., has been used by researchersin many parts of the world to study evolution,physiology, toxicology, and even human health.In 2005, the Grice Marine Lab hosted the first oftwo NSF-supported workshops to facilitatedevelopment and sharing of modern “genome-enabled” tools for Fundulus. Workshopcoordinator Dr. Karen Burnett brought togethera group of 12 scientists from Woods HoleOceanographic Institution, University of Miami,Mount Desert Island, and other laboratories toidentify ways to share existing molecularresources and capabilities. At a secondworkshop in 2006, scientists will discuss how toapply modern techniques to address a variety ofenvironmental questions using Fundulus. Thegroup will explore the establishment of aFundulus Genomics Consortium and will issuerecommendations for developing and distributingmolecular tools to researchers.
Student & Faculty AwardsAgnes Ayme-Southgate - (Assoc. Prof.)Received the College's Distinguished AdvisingAward.Tiffany Baker – Received the McLeod-FramptonScholarship from the South Carolina AgriculturalSociety. Awarded the Byrd Dunn award for beststudent presentation at the annual meeting ofthe Southeastern Society of Parasitologists(SSP) held March 29-31 in Gatlinburg, TN.Received support for summer research from theJoanna Deep Water Fellowship. Nominated toSigma Xi Scientific Research Society.Lou Burnett - (Prof.) Received the College'sDistinguished Research Award.Kristen Mazzarella - Best Student ConservationPoster for “Analysis of Stranded Loggerhead SeaTurtles (Caretta caretta) in North and South
Carolina UsingMitochondrial DNA andStranding Records,” 26thAnnual Symposium on SeaTurtle Conservation andBiology in Crete, Greece.Lindy Thibodeaux –Nominated to Sigma XiScientific ResearchSociety.Heidi Williams –Nominated to Sigma XiScientific ResearchSociety.Debra Zdankiewicz –Received the Best StudentOral Presentation Award,2006 Marine BiologyGraduate StudentResearch Colloquium (Feb2006) and received supportfrom the Joanna Fellowshipfor summer research.
Marcus Zokan – Nominated to Sigma XiScientific Research Society.
Research ColloquiumThe 9th annual Marine Biology Student
Research Colloquium celebrated studentresearch on February 24 and 25, 2006. Thekeynote speaker of the event was Dr. JeffreyLevinton, Distinguished Professor in theDepartment of Ecology and Evolution at StonyBrook University. Dr. Levinton is a scientist anda teacher with broad interests in the sciencesand the intersection of science and society. Thefocus of his present research is on evolutionaryresponses to toxic substances and on sexualselection and natural selection in themorphological evolution of fiddler crabs. He isexamining their relationship to phylogeny basedon molecular data. The title of Dr. Levinton’s
keynote address was “Fiddler Crabs as a ModelSystem for Integrating Functional Biology andEvolutionary History.”Saturday was devoted tostudent research as 15students highlighted theirresearch accomplishments.The final talk in the Saturdaysession was by Dr. Levintonwho spoke on “The HudsonRiver and the Birth of theEnvironmental Movement.” Apig roast and veggie burgercookout capped the weekend’s activities.Pictures from this colloquium and past eventsare available at www.cofc.edu/~marine.
Continued on page 8
Faculty NotesThe Craig Plante lab continues to study the
effects of non-equilibrium processes that struc-ture microbial communities in marine sediments.Upcoming work will focus specifically on the roleof biotic disturbance and its effects on both het-erotrophic bacteria and benthic microalgae. Twoadditional areas of research include 1) the studyof quorum sensing (a means of communicationin bacteria) in sedimentary bacteria and 2) pros-pecting for surfactant-resistant bacteria in ma-rine habitats, which hold promise forbioremediation of contaminated sediments. Dr.Plante will again be teaching a study-abroadecology course in Panama (May 10 - June 2) atthe Institute for Tropical Ecology & Conserva-tion.
William D. Anderson, Jr. in 2005coauthored with Victor G. Springer of theSmithsonian Institution a review of the fish genusSymphysanodon, in which three new specieswere described. Dr. Anderson has in press anumber of accounts that will be included in theSOUTH CAROLINA ENCYCLOPEDIA(scheduled for publication later this year) andaccounts of three groups of fishes that will appearin the species identification guide for the livingmarine resources of the eastern central Atlantic(will be published by the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations). He recentlysubmitted a manuscript describing a newspecies of the serranid fish genus Meganthiasto the Proceedings of the Biological Society ofWashington. Dr. Anderson continues workingon a large manuscript (coauthored with PhillipC. Heemstra, South African Institute for AquaticBiodiversity, Grahamstown) reviewing Atlanticand eastern Pacific anthiine fishes (familySerranidae) and is beginning work on a historyof ichthyological studies in South Carolina thatwill be a chapter in a book on the freshwaterfishes of South Carolina (book currently in
preparation by Joseph M.Quattro, University ofSouth Carolina, and Fred C. Rohde, NorthCarolina Division of Marine Fisheries).
The Burnett lab is now running shrimp andcrabs on treadmills! Using underwater treadmillsCofC summer student Monica Mack and visitingfaculty member David Scholnick (EckerdCollege) found that penaeid shrimp take well totreadmills, sometimes running for hours. Studiesin this laboratory center on mechanisms ofdefense against infection in a variety of marineorganisms including shrimp, crabs, oysters, andfishes. Everyoneknows that humansdon’t perform wellwhen they are sick.In the marineenvironment, poorperformance couldresult in a shrimp ora crab being eaten.Treadmill studieswill help gauge how these animals perform understress when they are fighting a bacterial infection.
Tony Harold recently published a descriptionof a new species of coral goby (Gobiodonprolixus) from the Indo-Pacific. During his springsemester sabbatical leave (2006), Tony hasprepared a manuscript for publication on thephylogenetic relationships of coral gobies basedon molecular and morphological evidence. TheFish and Invertebrate Collection database projectcontinues, as part of the Southeastern RegionalTaxonomic Center (SERTC), with funding fromNOAA. Undergraduate marine biology studentAllison Chandler worked as collectionsassistant this academic year, through fundingfrom the Department of Biology.
Gorka Sancho has been involved withmonitoring spotted seatrout spawningaggregations in Charleston Harbor with marinebiology graduate student Chris Bradshaw. A
Antarctic Research - Cont. from page 1classes in the Ross Sea: diatoms and thehaptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica. On a globalscale, this competition could ultimately affectthe levels of the greenhouse gasses carbondioxide and dimethylsulfide (DMS) and hasimportant implications with regard to thephenomenon of Global Warming. Moreinformation about this project can be found by
visiting the websitewww.whoi.edu/sites/corsacs.
During this adventure, theDiTullio lab traveled to manydestinations while in the RossSea. The first stop was nearBeaufort Island, where theyspent New Years Eve. Theirresearch also took them tovarious other places includingCape Washington, LadyNewnes Bay and the Bay of
Whales. In fact, while in the Bay of Whales,they broke the world record by traveling farthersouth (78° 40.891’S) than any other ship inhistory. They also saw lots of animals, includingseals and Adelie penguins and were luckyenough to catch a glimpse of some whales.
In February 2006, one member of the DiTulliolab, Aimee Neeley, traveled to the other side ofAntarctica to participate in an NSF-fundedBiocomplexity project at Palmer Station,Antarctica. Palmer Station is located on Anvers
Island off the coast of the Palmer Peninsula (68°46’S, 64° 03’W). The focus of this research wasto examine the biogeochemical cycling of DMS.The project was a collaboration of 6 institutionsthat sent personnel to monitor DMSP and DMSproduction and consumption over the course ofthe entire spring/summer season (October 2005to February 2006).
Approximately 45 people live at Palmer Stationduring the “summer’ season. Various birds andmammals also live on and around PalmerStation, including many species of seals, birds,and penguins. On occasion even whales makea visit. More information about this project canbe found at the following website:www.bigelow.org/arctic/matrai05/index.html.
Undergrad Research - Cont. from page 1
many of the now-traditional summer activities,including a boat trip to Capers Island, overnight“Ethics in Science” trip to the ACE Basin, andoral presentations of their researchaccomplishments. They added some newevents, including a visit to the InternationalCenter for Birds of Prey. The interns learnedand accomplished a lot over the summer, with
two particularly notable accolades. KristinGreene from the College of Charleston, whoworked with mentor Dr. Tom Greig of NOAA,took first place for oral presentation the BiologicalScience II division of the Louis Stokes SouthCarolina Alliance for Minority ParticipationUndergraduate Research Symposium inOrangeburg, SC last July. Charles KoloRathburn, a native Hawaiian from ChaminadeUniversity of Honolulu, who worked withpostdoctoral fellow Dr. Brett Macey andmembers of the Burnett Lab, was one of 60students from around the country selected bythe National Council on Undergraduate Researchto present his work at the “Posters on the Hill”event in Washington DC on April 25, 2006. Whilehe was on Capitol Hill, Kolo visited the offices ofSenators and local Congressmen from SouthCarolina and Hawaii, drawing attention to theimportance of federal funding for undergraduateresearch. The National Science Foundation hassupported the Summer Program for six years,since 1999. In April 2006, NSF recognized thesuccesses of the undergraduate researchprogram by awarding another three-year roundof support. Our web page: www.cofc.edu/~reu.
Christmas at Sea: Pictured in the front are Dr.Jack DiTullio, Dr. Peter Lee, and AimeeNeeley. Back l to r: Dave Jones, Jay Francella,Brian Taylor.
Kolo Rathburn's poster is reviewed by Congress-man Henry Brown.
is to conduct metabolic rate measurements onthe astronauts training in the Neutral BuoyancyLaboratory’s pool for their upcoming extravehicular activities (EVA) while on theInternational Space Station (ISS) or the SpaceShuttles. He will also be assisting in a series oftests to help optimize the spacesuits for use onthe upcoming Moon missions and the Missionto Mars. Jim recently visited Grice and workedwith Dr. Bernard Zahuranec in Dr. Tony Harold’slaboratory in an effort to identify a significantportion of the remaining unsorted R/V TYROlanternfishes.Michelle Hardee (2000): After graduating fromthe College of Charleston, Michelle taughtOceanography, Marine Geology, andEnvironmental Geology at Coastal CarolinaUniversity. She is currently earning a Ph.D. inMarine Science at the University of SouthCarolina in paleoceanographic and climatechange research using sediment trap anddowncore samples from the Santa BarbaraBasin. Her research involves using foraminiferalMg/Ca ratios, oxygen isotopes, andphytoplankton alkenone ratios aspaleotemperature proxies, for determining thereliability of the climate signal preserved in thesediment trap samples by examining theseproxies’ inter-correlation and preservation inrecent sediments. In 2004, she published twoIntroductory Oceanography Lab Manuals for theMSCI 101-102 course series at USC throughKendall/Hunt Publishers. Michelle plans to finishher degree in 2007 and will soon be looking for ateaching/research position in Marine Science,Paleoceanography, or other related fields.
Karen (Stahl) Tuerk (2002): After graduatingfrom the College of Charleston, Karen marriedMatt Tuerk and moved to Columbia, SC. Karenworked as a research technician at the Universityof South Carolina investigating microbial nutrientcycling and biodegradation processes while Mattworked on getting his MBA in internationalbusiness at USC. They have a daughter, Amelia,who will be two years old in July. They recentlymoved to Panama, Central America, for Matt’sjob and are loving it - beautiful weather, oceanviews, cheap food & beer. Karen is hoping to beemployed soon at a non-profit and is alsocontributing to an article about parenting abroadthat she plans to submit to Mothering magazine.
Alumni Notes - Cont. from page 2
Behavioral Biologist at GriceThe Grice Marine Lab is happy to have Allison
Welch as a Research Associate and adjunctfaculty member. She received her B.S. fromTruman State University in 1993 and her Ph.D.in Biological Sciences from the University ofMissouri in 2000. Her research focuses on thebehavior, ecology and evolution of frogs withemphasis on the evolution of mating behaviorsin gray tree frogs. Allison teaches Biodiversity(BIOL 211), Herpetology (BIOL 334) and Ecology(BIOL 341). Allison shares an office andresearch space at Grice with her husband, BobPodolsky. She was drawn to the college by its“excellent colleagues, good students, and theCollege’s focus on both undergraduate educationand research”. South Carolina, and the southeastin general, was particularly interesting to Allisonbecause of the abundance of frogs.
A key part of Allison’sresearch involves undergraduatestudents. This semester AmyGlass (junior, marine biology)and Brian Kennedy(sophomore, marine biology)have analyzed digital recordingsof gray tree frog mating calls.These data will be used to testwhether male frogs in betterphysical condition are able toproduce vocalizations that aremore attractive to female frogs.Amy is hoping to continue herresearch this summer by recording and analyzingcalls of the original males’ sons. They will thenbe able to compare the calls of fathers and sonsin order to test the heritability of calling behaviorin these frogs. Nicki Witkowski (senior, marinebiology), Kyle Palmquist (senior, biology) andMorgan Helms (sophomore, biology) areworking on a morphometric study of gray treefrogs. They are currently preparing frogspecimens and in the fall, Nicki will take variousmeasures of body length from frogs of knownparentage in order to test the heritability of bodysize and physical condition in these frogs.Allison's web site: www.cofc.edu/~welcha.
Grice Lab MerchandiseThe Marine Biology Graduate StudentAssociation sells a variety of items to raisemoney to support student presentations atscientific meetings as well as funding somesocial and community-related activitiesthroughout the year. Items for sale include t-shirts, coffee mugs and pint glasses, koozies,and hats. For more information, seewww.cofc.edu/~marine.
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variety of gears were used to monitor theaggregations including hydrophones to listen tomales calling. Spotted seatrout were alsomonitored with ultrasonic telemetry using VemcoVR2 receivers and ultrasonic tags which weresurgically implanted into the fish. The receiverswere placed in the harbor to monitor two knownspawning aggregations and the surroundingareas. Data were analyzed to investigate howthe fish used the habitat and how their behaviorwas affected by environmental conditions.
In April each year hundreds of adult maleloggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta arrive inthe Cape Canaveral Ship Channel right under thenose of the US Rocket Station. They migrate infrom unknown areas to take part in the largestbreeding aggregation of loggerheads in thehemisphere. Gaëlle Blanvillain (researchassociate), Dave Owens (professor) andKristen Mazzarella (graduate student) teamedup with scientists from SCDNR to trawl up someof these males to evaluate their reproductivecondition and place satellite transmitters on theirbacks to learn more about their wanderings andmating habits. The turtles were captured,ultrasounded for gonad condition and surgicallyprepped for a testicular biopsy. All turtles didwell and swam away immediately sporting theirnew transmitters. For more information on the
turtle tracks, see http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?tag_id=64548. The turtles are givennames for classroom identification. Gonadalhistology, hormone data, population genetics andmigratory tracks will be analyzed over the nextyear.
The Allan Strand lab is currently conductingthree investigations. An ongoing project ischaracterizing genetic variation in shortnosesturgeon among watersheds in the southeasternUS. This project is funded by the US Fish andWildlife Foundation in collaboration with Dr.Connie Keeler-Foster, a USFWS scientist andsupports one Masters of Environmental Studiesstudent, Miranda McManus. The secondproject is an investigation of the demography andlandscape-level population dynamics of beachvitex, an invasive plant that has expanded itsrange on beaches in the Carolinas over the past15 years. This project currently supports anundergraduate biology major and will support agraduate student in the coming months. A thirdproject continues research into the dispersaldynamics of another beach plant, searocket.Graduate student David Couillard is resolvingrates of seed dispersal among beaches in theSouth Atlantic Bight using cpDNA-based geneticmarkers. Analytical tools are being developedto model dispersal curves within individualbeaches using genetic markers and spatiallocations of plants.
