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Marine Science Seminars

Seminars held at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute

MSI Seminars 2024

Wednesday, March 6, 12:00 pm, In-person & Zoom.
UT Marine Science Institute, Patton Center, Auditorium.

"How Far the Light Reaches"

Sabrina Imbler, Author

BioSabrina Imbler is a writer for the worker-owned website Defector, where they cover creatures and the natural world. Their book How Far the Light Reaches won a 2022 Los Angeles Book Prize in science and technology, and their chapbook Dyke (geology) was selected by the National Book Foundation’s science & literature program. Sabrina lives in Brooklyn with their partner, a school of 
fish, and two cats, Sesame and Melon. 

Friday, February 16, 11:00 am, In-person & Zoom.
UT Marine Science Institute, Patton Center, Auditorium.

"Delineating Marine Trophic Interactions and Biodiversity in a Changing World"

Jordan M. Casey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

Seminar summary: Defining trophic interactions and marine biodiversity are essential to understand the potential of marine systems to buffer external perturbations and maintain the flow of energy and nutrients through communities. Yet, current trophic categorizations and biodiversity assessments are limited by poor data resolution and thus insufficient to make reliable projections of food web structure, especially under anthropogenic stressors. Here, I assess global food web structure, present the highest resolution food web ever assembled for a coral reef ecosystem, examine trophic interactions under global change, assess species diversification across the Caribbean, and review the application of environmental DNA to measure marine biodiversity. Niche-based modelling reveals fine-scale partitioning among species, emphasizing the importance of examining fish diet beyond broad trophic categories and the vulnerability of trophic specialists to global change. The application of molecular tools enables us to pinpoint novel interactions and define cryptic diversity across marine systems.

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Friday, February 9, 11:00 am, In-person & Zoom.
UT Marine Science Institute, Patton Center, Auditorium.

"Tracking Soil Carbon on the Move in Boreal Forest Landscapes"

Sue Ziegler, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Seminar summary: In this talk I will describe what my students and I have learned through the study of soil carbon stores, dissolved organic matter fluxes, and hydrology at regional, catchment and hillslope scales in mesic boreal forest landscapes of Newfoundland and Labrador. Placing the results in the context of regional climate change, I will describe our evidence for the controls geologic parent material, hydrology, and landscape antecedent conditions exert on soil carbon stores and their responses to extreme precipitation events. The results of this work inform modelling approaches for estimating future soil carbon stores in these and potentially other boreal forest landscapes.

Carbon and nitrogen cycling in the southern Laguna Madre, Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, 1998. Supervisor: Ronald Benner. (dissertation held in the Marine Science Library)

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Host: Dr. Sharon Herzka.

Friday, February 2, 11:00 am, In-person & Zoom.
UT Marine Science Institute, Patton Center, Auditorium.

Speakers: The University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

"Quantifying the Background Levels of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Central and South Texas Bays and Estuaries"
Jack Lloyd, Ph.D. student

"Mechanisms of Acid-Base Regulation of Larval Sheephead Minnows Across a Salinity Gradient"
Lu Lin, Ph.D. student

Friday, January 26, 11:00 am, In person & Zoom.
ERC Seminar Room

"Hypoxia and Hypoxia Tolerance in the Marine Environment"

Brad A. Seibel, Ph.D.
Professor, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida

Seminar summaryThe availability of oxygen in aquatic habitats varies, both spatially and temporally, from complete anoxia (not biologically available) to hyperoxia (oxygen in excess of biological capacity) due to imbalances between photosynthetic and atmospheric oxygen introduction and heterotrophic oxygen consumption.  Anthropogenic warming reduces oxygen solubility and increases ocean stratification, which limits atmospheric oxygen replenishment, and simultaneously increases organismal consumption.  Anthropogenic nutrient input causes coastal deoxygenation by promoting algal growth and its subsequent decay by microbes that consume oxygen.  Oxygen availability is a key determinant of organismal fitness and distribution.  Thus, anthropogenic ocean deoxygenation is of growing concern.  However, the effect of low oxygen on animals is incompletely understood and often misunderstood.  Here I discuss some common misconceptions and new findings that shed light on the potential response of marine animals to ocean deoxygenation.

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Host: Dr. Andrew Esbaugh.

Friday, January 19, 11:00 am, Zoom.
UT Marine Science Institute, Patton Center, Auditorium.

"Humanizing Biology to Promote Equitable Classrooms"

Cissy Ballen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology Education Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University.

Seminar summaryThis seminar will discuss recent innovations in biology education research with a focus on promoting STEM equity through humanizing biology. I will cover current research that can be split into two broad avenues of inquiry, centered around the question “What are scalable solutions that address opportunity gaps in biology classrooms?” I will focus on (1) The impacts of promoting counter-stereotypical role models on student outcomes and (2) The impacts of contextualizing societal and ethical considerations into biology curricula. Through large-scale collaboration across many institutions, this work advances our understanding of effective and inclusive teaching through integrating research and education in STEM.

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Host: UTMSI Graduate Students.

Welcome!

Seminar tabs are listed in the order of upcoming dates, followed by past seminars (most recent first).

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