Marine Science Seminars

Friday, December 3, 11:00 am

"Fighting Cancer With Functional Foods – New Approaches to Investigate the Interactions of Basal Nutrition, Dietary Bioactives, and Gut Bacteria"

Abby Benninghoff, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Toxicology, Diet and Cancer, Epigenetics, Utah State University

In this seminar, Dr. Benninghoff will tell the story of her research over the past decade to understand the effects of a Western type diet on inflammation-associated colorectal cancer and dietary intervention with various functional foods to reduce cancer risk.  Her current work has led her team into a new area of research for her group to understand the effects of dietary bioactives on the gut microbiome in the context of gut inflammation.  She will also explain her journey – perhaps a bit winding but fulfilling, nonetheless – from her graduate lab at Utah State where she studied calcium signaling in ovarian cells to studies on the toxicity of PFOA in rainbow trout at Oregon State to work on transplacental cancer prevention using estrogenic indole-3-carbinol from broccoli (also at USU), to her current research program on diet and colon cancer.  She will also be happy to answer questions from current students on her recent experience taking on a large administrative assignment while maintaining an active research program.

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Thursday, December 2, 11:00 am

"Carbon transport in oxygen minimum zones off Peru and Mexico"

Helmut Maske, Ph.D.
Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE) Ensenada, Mexico

Seminar summary: The ETNP oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is by far the biggest, but also probably the least researched. What makes an OMZ is the misbalance between organics transported into the mesopelagic and advection and mixing of surface water transporting oxygen to the mesopelagic. In the literature, OMZs are often related to EBUS, which provide the nutrients to the surface for the high productivity necessary to feed the respiration in the mesopelagic. Comparing Peruvian and Mexican OMZs we see a certain mirror image in regional distribution but surface conditions are very different, for example the Mexican OMZ has no significant coastal upwelling, which prompts the question how these systems work. The OMZ layer has high inorganic carbon concentrations; does that make the regions of OMZ net sinks or sources for atmospheric CO2? OMZs are also of interest because they might be expanding due to climate change, and because they put bacterial and animal physiology to the test: at what low oxygen concentrations can the aerobic organisms successfully metabolize and how do they do it. In my seminar I will talk about general aspects of the Mexican and Peruvian OMZs and the possibility that they promote carbon sequestration through the biological (soft tissue) pump.

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Friday, November 19, 11:00 am

"Utilizing NMR-based Metabolomics in Fish Nutrition"

Aaron M. Watson, Ph.D.
Marine Resources Research Institute, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Seminar summary: In an effort to improve feeds for aquaculture, we have begun utilizing NMR-based metabolomics as a unique evaluation tool. As fishmeal and fish oil use are reduced and alternative, terrestrial-based ingredients are developed and evaluated, their full effects on the physiology and production potential in fish cannot be fully captured utilizing traditional techniques and metrics. By incorporating untargeted metabolite profiling of feeds and tissues, we hope to gain insight into active metabolic pathways and ultimate physiological responses of fish to novel ingredients and formulations in an effort to inform feed formulation for increased production and sustainability.

Research interests: Aquaculture nutrition, taurine, fishmeal and fish oil replacement in aquafeeds, metabolomics, transcriptomics and gene expression, parasite detection.

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Friday, November 12, 11:00 am

"It's a Fluid Situation: Adaptive Strategies for Surviving in an Aquatic Environment"

Brad Gemmell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida

Seminar summary: Compared to terrestrial species, marine organisms are surrounded by a much denser fluid medium which affects many essential processes, such as feeding and locomotion. However, water is generally transparent and thus the ‘signaling medium’ controlling many important interactions can be difficult to resolve. In this presentation, Dr. Gemmell will explore some of the novel tools that can be used to elucidate the interactions of animals and water factors, as well as how the results are challenging some central and long-standing tenets in the realms of animal locomotion and feeding.

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Friday, November 5, 11:00 am

"Exploring the Vast Universe of Microbes"

Valerie De Anda, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute
Baker Marine Microbial Ecology Lab

Current research: Dr. Valerie De Anda’s current research efforts focus on expanding the tree of life by identifying unknown and ancient microbial lineages to provide a better understanding of the biogeochemistry and evolution of life on the planet.

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Friday, October 22, 11:00 am

"Physiological Mechanisms of Coral Resilience to Climate Change"

Katie L. Barott, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania
The Barott Lab

Research interests: My research is focused on understanding how interactions between reef-building corals and their microbial symbionts influence the biology and ecology of coral reef ecosystems. Coral reefs are increasingly affected by human activity and climate change, and I am interested in how the coral host and it's algal and bacterial symbionts change as they encounter various stressors (e.g. temperature and ocean acidification). My lab utilizes a combination of approaches to address these questions, including cell biology, organismal physiology, microbial ecology, and field experiments and observations. Potential students and postdoctoral researchers interested in joining the lab should contact me directly.

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Friday, October 15, 11:00

"Revealing Ocean-Scale Biochemical Structure Through Robotic Oceanography"

John "Chip" Breier, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Seminar summary: Recent evidence suggests that nutrient stress among marine primary producers can be quite complex. At any single point on the map, the specific limiting nutrient can vary with depth and time depending potentially on multiple factors, including the availability of other micronutrients and the state of the microbial community. To better understand these nutrient stresses and the global influence of marine microorganisms on Earth’s climate, collaborators and I developed a robot capable of sampling seawater biochemistry across ocean basins while still capturing the fine-scale biogeochemical processes therein. I will present results that show how this vehicle conducts high-resolution sensor surveys and sample return missions, including a mapping of 1144 kilometers of the Sargasso Sea to a depth of 1000 meters.

Areas of expertise: Dynamic marine mixing processes, chemical and energy exchange at ocean boundaries, scavaging and transport of trace elements, instrument and autonomous vehicle development, and telerobotics for ocean science applications.

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Friday, October 8, 11:00 am

"When Do Reef Fish Larvae Develop Sensory Systems, Swimming Abilities, and Orientation Behaviors That Could Allow Them to Influence Their Dispersal?"

John Majoris, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

Seminar summary: A major focus of biological oceanography is to understand how larval behavior and ocean currents interact to shape patterns of marine larval dispersal and population connectivity. Some late-stage larvae, especially those of coral reef fishes, have strong, directional swimming abilities that likely allow them to influence their dispersal trajectory. However, due to the difficulty of working with delicate early-stage larvae, it remains unclear when during development larvae could begin to actively influence their dispersal. This seminar will explore John’s recent work using aquaculture techniques, lab experiments and fieldwork to study when reef fish larvae develop the sensory systems, swimming abilities, and orientation behaviors that could allow them to influence their dispersal.

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Friday, October 1, 11:00 am

"Anthropogenic and Natural Feedbacks to Global Methane Emissions"

Amy Townsend-Small, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Environmental Science, Department of Geology and Geography, University of Cincinnati

Seminar summary: Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more powerful than carbon dioxide, and is currently increasing at a faster rate in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide.  However, due to multiple natural and anthropogenic sources, the reasons for this increase are unclear.  This seminar will explore her research over the past decade on various sources of methane and methods using stable isotopes and radiocarbon to elucidate sources of methane in the atmosphere, building on isotopic techniques learned as a graduate student at MSI. 

Research interests: My current research explores the sources and fluxes of methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas.  My group is investigating whether the transition from oil and coal to natural gas as an energy resource will result in increased emissions of methane, with research in Ohio, Texas, and Colorado, as well as whether climate warming and changing hydrology could enhance greenhouse gas emissions from lakes, with studies in Lake Erie and the Arctic.  My approach includes measurement of carbon and hydrogen stable isotopes as methane source indicators.

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Friday, September 24, 11:00 am

"Insight Into the Deep Water Region of the Gulf of Mexico: A Perspective From Mexican Waters"

Sharon Zinah Herzka Llona, Ph.D.
Department of Oceanography, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Ensenada, Mexico.

Seminar summary: Dr. Herzka will provide an overview into some of the research results that she and her collaborators have obtained within the CIGOM project, including studies on larval fish and zooplankton transport and community structure, diel vertical migration inferred through acoustics, and the detection of decadal-scale changes in the deep waters of the GoM.

Biographical sketch: Dr. Herzka studied for her master’s and doctorate degrees at MSI under the direction of Dr. Ken Dunton and Dr. Joan Holt, respectively. While her research focuses on marine fish ecology and isotopic ecology, she collaborates closely with physical oceanographers and biogeochemists to examine larval transport, connectivity, nutrient sources, and open water oceanography.

In recent years, Dr. Herzka has worked on various aspects of the oceanography of the Gulf of Mexico, with particular emphasis on the central deepwater region. Within the CIGoM (Gulf of Mexico Research Consortium) project (2015-2022), financed by the SENER-CONACYT Hydrocarbon fund, she coordinated a large multi-institutional research group tasked with establishing an environmental baseline for Mexico’s EEZ.  She was responsible for the integration of an extensive environmental database that includes data from 19 cruises that covered Mexican waters, as well as the monitoring of extensive seagrass meadows off Campeche and Yucatan. She also led an interdisciplinary team that developed an online platform for the management of oceanographic expeditions and the environmental database. Lastly, she coordinated the Atlas of the Environmental Baseline of the Gulf of Mexico, an 11-volume set that showcases part of the results obtained by CIGOM. Dr. Herzka is currently on sabbatical at Texas A&M University - Galveston.

Friday, September 17, 11:00 am

"ZIP9: A Protein at the Intersection of Androgen Signaling and Zinc Biology"

Aubrey Koch Converse, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

Abstract: Aubrey works in a research group that recently characterized the zinc transporter protein ZIP9 as a membrane androgen receptor. The ability of ZIP9 to mediate both androgen actions and zinc dynamics is a characteristic unique to this protein and makes it a prime candidate to study in ovarian physiology. Ovarian cells produce androgens that act directly on ovarian cells and throughout the body to modulate processes critical to female reproduction. On the other hand, zinc is the most abundant transitional metal in the body and has recently been found to play an essential role in the fertilization of mammalian eggs. In this talk, Aubrey will review the group’s work on ZIP9’s role in the fish ovary, specifically highlighting how it mediates androgen and zinc signaling to regulate ovarian follicle survival and egg activation. 

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Friday, February 5, 1:00 pm, Zoom

"Microorganisms in the Health and Resilience of Coral Reefs"

Hannah E. Epstein, Ph.D.
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow 
Department of Microbiology, Oregon University
Vega Thurber Lab

Research:  Coral reef microbial ecology and its role in ecosystem health and climate resilience.

Abstract: Coral reefs are among the most extraordinary ecosystems worldwide. Now threatened by anthropogenic influences such as climate change and local human disturbances, it has become essential to identify and understand the processes that strengthen reef recovery, health and resilience. In this presentation, I will outline and discuss the role that microorganisms play in coral host and reef ecosystem health in the face of both global and local stressors, including how we may use this knowledge of the micro-scale to inform and improve restoration, conservation and management initiatives. Using two coral reef systems in the Pacific as examples, I will show time-series data on the dynamics of the coral microbiome and discuss new genetic and ecological data on the critical roles microbes play in reef resilience.

Bio: Dr. Hannah Epstein is a coral reef microbial ecologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Vega Thurber Lab at Oregon State University. Her scientific focus is on the microbial communities of tropical reef-building corals and coral reef ecosystems with an emphasis on the impacts of anthropogenic pressures that include climate change, local human disturbance and invasive species. Hannah completed her PhD in 2019 on the dynamics of the coral microbiome in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science under the supervision of Prof. Madeleine van Oppen, after which she completed her first postdoctoral position in the Baum Lab at the University of Victoria. She now holds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology to conduct work on the impacts of invasive rat eradication on coral reef health.

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