Month: November 2022

Dr. Lingjie Zhou defends PhD on quantifying phytoplankton carbon biomass using DNA

Posted on November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 by Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Dr. Lingjie Zhou on her Ph.D. defense. Check out Dr. Zhou’s description of her Ph.D. journey and accomplishments below. We are wishing Dr. Zhou all the best for her future career!

I defended my Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Estimate phytoplankton carbon biomass using DNA” on Nov. 15^th, 2022. My Ph.D. research was aimed at establishing the correlations among the cellular contents of DNA, C, and rDNA in phytoplankton and I measured these parameters for 11 species spanning major algal lineages at different growth stages and under different growth conditions. The correlations would enable oceanographers to determine the species composition and species-specific carbon biomass in the phytoplankton community simultaneously. Throughout the Ph. D. study period, I gave presentations at conferences, including the Northeast Algal Symposium, Phycological Society of America, ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, and Feng Graduate Research Colloquium. I have published several papers as co-author (listed below), and I’m still working on my own papers now. I have received the Student Research Award from the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department of the University of Connecticut (UConn) and the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History in 2019 as well as several summer research awards from the Department of Marine Sciences at UConn.

References:
Nanjing Ji, Jinwang Huang, Zhenzhen Zhang, Lingjie Zhou, Xin Shen, Senjie Lin, Identification and expression analysis of meiosis-related genes in the harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo (Raphidophyceae). Harmful Algae, 2020, 92, 101736, ISSN 1568-9883, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2019.101736.

Nanjing Ji, Zhenzhen Zhang, Jinwang Huang, Lingjie Zhou, Shengxian Deng, Xin Shen, Senjie Lin. Utilization of various forms of nitrogen and expression regulation of transporters in the harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo (Raphidophyceae). Harmful Algae, 2020, 92, 101770, ISSN 1568-9883, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2020.101770.

Chuner Cai, Feng Liu, Ting Jiang, Lingke Wang, Rui Jia, Lingjie Zhou, Kai Gu, Jianfeng Ren, Peimin He. Comparative study on mitogenomes of green tide algae. Genetica, 2018, 146(6): 529–540, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-018-0046-7

Zhou at the 56th Northeast Algal Symposium in April 2017

Zhou at the ASLO 2019 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in February 2019

Annette Carlson presents master’s thesis on oxygen and nutrient cycling in St. Helena Bay

Posted on November 19, 2022November 20, 2022 by Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Annette Carlson, who presented her master’s thesis on November 9, 2022. Annette‘s thesis was entitled “Quantifying interannual variability of shelf nutrients and associated hypoxia in St. Helena Bay with new metrics and tools” and she was advised by Professor Samantha Siedlecki. St. Helena Bay is located in the Southern Benguela Upwelling System off the coast of South Africa. During her master’s, Annette traveled to South Africa to work with collaborators at the University of Cape Town and gain experience collecting water samples, and analyzed an existing dataset to characterize and develop mechanistic understanding of the variability in nutrients and oxygen in this dynamic upwelling region.

Annette also presented a webinar on her thesis work to the Global Ocean Oxygen Network in October 2022, which is available on YouTube, and she participated in several conferences.

Congratulations, Annette, and best wishes in your future career!

Carlson’s thesis was funded by the US National Science Foundation through a grant to Dr. Samantha Siedlecki and Dr. Julie Granger.

Annette Carlson and colleagues (Raquel Flynn (left), Sina Wallschuss (right)) sampling for oxygen and nutrients in False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo credit: Pieter Truter.

DMS Kayla Mladinich shows that bivalves can reject microplastics

Posted on November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by Hannes Baumann

8 November 2022. DMS is happy to share the latest publication by PhD student Kayla Mladinich, showing the surprising but good news that blue mussels and oysters appear not to ingest all microplastic particles floating in the water.

By Kayla Mladinich.

Oysters and mussels are filter feeders that draw particles in from the surrounding water to be eaten. These animals can select which particles are eaten or rejected depending on factors such as particle size and surface properties. This study was performed to determine what kinds of microplastics will be consumed or rejected by oysters and mussels. Both species rejected larger microplastics more than smaller microplastics and did not differentiate between different types of plastic polymers. The results suggest that oysters and mussels will not ingest all microplastics that they are exposed to in the natural environment!

Shell recycling will help restore oysters in Long Island Sound

Posted on November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by Hannes Baumann

By Elaina Hancock.

7 November 2022. An unexpected find of a healthy, well-established oyster reef tucked away in a shoreline park inspired UConn Marine Science researcher Zofia Baumann to study ways to help these vital ecosystem engineers make a comeback.

Oyster habitats were largely destroyed by development, over-harvesting, and pollution, but in Long Island Sound, their numbers might be on the rise. Baumann and others hope to help restore Connecticut’s oyster populations.

Oysters build habitats where many species flourish, they improve water quality and make shorelines more resilient to erosion, but they need old shells to start building on. The site that became the focus of the project is one where oyster shells were deposited. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of shells in Connecticut and addressing this problem is the primary goal.

The project brings together members of the community, shellfish farmers, and regulators, as Baumann says, this effort relies on the community, otherwise, it will not work.

Dr. Yipeng He becomes the department’s newest PhD!

Posted on November 3, 2022November 3, 2022 by Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Dr. Yipeng He, who successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “Air-sea exchange of mercury and its species in the coastal and open ocean” on October 28, 2022. Dr. He was a student in Professor Rob Mason’s group and his PhD research included research cruises in the Pacific Ocean (GEOTRACES cruise GP-15), Arctic Ocean, and Long Island Sound to collect measurements of mercury at the air-sea interface. Drs. He, Mason and colleagues have already published some of the thesis results in Environmental Science & Technology and Atmospheric Environment.

Check out some photos from Dr. He’s journey below!

Dr. He will be departing soon for another GEOTRACES research cruise to collect more mercury data!