Author: Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Dr. Patricia Myer, PhD!

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Congratulations to Dr. Patricia Myer, the department’s newest PhD! Here is a description and some photos of Dr. Myer’s PhD journey, in her own words.

My Ph.D. dissertation defense was on March 20th, 2023, and titled “A Critical Examination of the Factors Controlling Methylmercury Uptake into Marine Plankton.”

I am a student in Dr. Robert Mason’s group and my research includes a three-year long time series of methylmercury in phytoplankton in Narragansett Bay, RI, a research cruise in the Northwest Pacific (NOAA GU1905), and laboratory uptake experiments with the dinoflagellate O. marina.

The goal of these projects was ultimately to compare the effects of biological and environmental variables (e.g., cell size, temperature, dissolved organic matter) between laboratory experiments and environmental studies to try to disentangle the leading drivers of methylmercury accumulation into plankton. The main takeaway is that relationships seen in laboratory experiments, both from my work and the literature, are not nearly as straightforward in the environment. There is a lot more work to be done to understand these complex relationships.

Currently, I have one publication from my prior undergraduate work (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02548-0) and one from my work in the Mason lab that is not part of my dissertation (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134609). I am currently preparing three papers relating to my dissertation for publication.

This work was funded by NSF Chemical Oceanography and the UConn Predoctoral Award.

Myer on the GU1905 cruise with a portable fume hood for processing methylmercury samples into particulate and dissolved fractions – October 2019

 

Myer presenting in Krakow, Poland at the International Conference for Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) – September 2019

Kayla Mladinich Poole receives R. LeRoy Creswell Award for Outreach and Education

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Kayla Mladinich Poole, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marine Sciences, was awarded the R. LeRoy Creswell Award for Outreach and Education through the National Shellfisheries Association (NSA). Kayla was selected for her extensive communications and outreach experience with the public and in STEM, as well as for her work as an active volunteer at the annual NSA conferences. Kayla is the first recipient of the award created to honor R. LeRoy Creswell’s life and impressive work in outreach and extension services. Congratulations, Kayla!

 

Kayla and Prof. Evan Ward collecting samples in the field
Kayla analyzing samples in the lab

Anagha Payyambally awarded Quad Fellowship

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Congratulations to Anagha Payyambally, a PhD student in Professor Cara Manning’s research group, who has been selected as part of the inaugural class of Quad Fellows. Anagha is one of 100 recipients out of over 3200 applicants across all STEM fields to be selected for this fellowship, which is administered by Schmidt Futures (a philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt). The rigorous selection process involved a written application, reference letters, and two interviews, and was designed to assess candidates’ academic excellence, intellectual rigor, interest in the intersection of STEM and society, capacity to bridge differences, and orientation towards results.Here is some info on the award, from Quad:
“This program sponsors 100 exceptional American, Japanese, Australian, and Indian master’s and doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to study in the United States. The fellowship develops a network of science and technology experts committed to advancing innovation and collaboration in the private, public, and academic sectors, in their own nations and among Quad countries. The program builds foundational understanding among Quad Fellows of one another’s societies and cultures through cohort-wide trips and robust programming with each country’s top scientists, technologists, and politicians.”

The next application for Quad Fellows is expected to open in November 2023.

Mary McGuinness completes MSc on alkalinity in Long Island Sound embayments

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Congratulations to Mary McGuinness who presented her MSc thesis research on alkalinity in Long Island Sound embayments on November 17, 2022.  Mary was advised by Dr. Penny Vlahos. Below is a description written by Mary about her research at UConn and her accomplishments during her degree. Check out the photos of her field work, too! Congratulations, Mary, and best wishes for the future!

I came to UConn in June 2020 after receiving the Crandall Fellowship for my commitment to diversity enhancement in higher education and science during my time as a undergraduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. While working on the Alkalinity of Long Island Sound Embayments (ALISE) project I was able to conduct field work across the Long Island Sound and help close the gap for alkalinity and inorganic carbon data in these rivers. Over a two year study I observed spatial trends for alkalinity across the Long Island Sound rivers, at their freshwater endmembers and detected help levels of acidification sensitivity. Lastly I produced an attributive model that indicated importance differences between the eastern and western Long Island Sound and presented novel controlling parameters which can be tested with the collection of further data to help fully resolve this system.

I was able to present my work virtually the Ocean Sciences Meeting (2022) and in person at the Long Island Sound Conference (2022) and Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Conference (SETAC) (2022). At the SETAC Conference I was presented with the best Oral Presentation Award.

 

Mary sampling on the Connecticut River

 

Filtering for dissolved organic carbon at the Thames River

 

Collecting data in the Thames River with labmate Lauren Barrett

 

Finishing a day of data collection at the Housatonic River

 

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

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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. 15th, 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

 

Dr. Zhou at her PhD defense

 

Zhou at the ASLO 2019 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in February 2019

 

Zhou working in the Lin lab

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

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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.

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

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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!

Dr. Yipeng He and Dr. Rob Mason following a successful thesis defense!

 

Yipeng He and colleagues on an Arctic research cruise

 

Yipeng and colleagues coring ice in the Arctic

 

Yipeng and the Mason lab with their atmospheric mercury sampler

Outreach event for eelgrass restoration

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On October 19, members of the Marine Sciences Department participated in an outreach event for a research project that is led by Professors Craig Tobias and Jamie Vaudrey, graduate student Shannon Jordan, and Chris Pickerell from the Cornell Cooperative Extension. The research is funded through the Long Island Sound Study. The researchers are aiming to improve the success of eelgrass restoration by adding a chemical amendment to the sediments when eelgrass shoots are transplanted to a new location.

The outreach event involved bringing community members and scientists together to prepare the eelgrass shoots for transplanting at the new sites in the Niantic River. Shannon and the team have also been conducting lots of field measurements and laboratory experiments in the lead up to the transplanting event. We look forward to learning how the eelgrass grows in its new habitat over the next year!

Shannon Jordan, Josie Mottram, Anagha Payyambally, and Alex Frenzel prepare eelgrass shoots for transplanting

Community members prepare eelgrass shoots for transplanting. Credit: Jamie Vaudrey

 

Shannon Jordan and Alex Frenzel participate in fieldwork for the project

 

Shannon, Amelia, Brian and Peter collect sediments for laboratory experiments

Graduate student Mackenzie Blanusa participates in NASA S-MODE cruise

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Graduate student Mackenzie Blanusa (a MSc student in Professor Cesar Rocha’s group) has written a blog post about her experience on the NASA Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) research cruise.

Check it out here!

Mackenzie says: “I had been patiently waiting and dreaming about this research cruise for months. Yet a few days before traveling from Connecticut to Oregon for ship mobilization, I couldn’t shake a feeling of denial – like I couldn’t believe I was really going to be out in the Pacific Ocean on a research vessel for an entire month. … S-MODE is wrapping up in a few days and I’ll be on my way back home. The sense of denial I once felt has been replaced with self-confidence and motivation to pursue a career as a seagoing oceanographer. I have learned so much from all the other scientists on board who are more than happy to share their knowledge with a curious graduate student. Although S-MODE is ending, I know this is just the beginning of my journeys at sea.”

Congratulations to Mackenzie and the team on a successful expedition, and we look forward to seeing you back on campus!

Mackenzie (left) and Avery Snyder (right) getting ready to deploy a mixed layer float. Credit: Alex Kinsella

Marine Sciences faculty and students participate in Early College Experience event

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On September 23, 2022, the Department of Marine Sciences helped to welcome 200 students from 12 high schools across Connecticut to the Avery Point campus for the annual Early College Experience Cardboard Boat Race event. These students are taking UConn courses at their local high schools and also prepared boats made only from cardboard and duct tape, which they raced in the waters off of Avery Point in the afternoon.

Prior to the races, Professor Matassa shared a presentation on the life of an ecologist and Professor Manning described how oceanographers use new technology to study changing ocean chemistry. Graduate students Mackenzie Blanusa and Riley Pena led a demonstration on the buoyancy of different vegetables. We look forward to seeing some of these high school students join the UConn Husky family in the future!

Congratulations are also on order for Marine Sciences undergraduate Devan Barnum who won the Avery Point community cardboard boat race on September 21, on behalf of the men’s basketball team!

Check out this article in The Day for more photos of the boat race.

The photos below were taken during the event  and are provided by Michael Illuzzi, Gordon Daigle and Cara Manning.
Top: Graduate Students Riley Pena and Mackenzie Blanusa led a demonstration on buoyancy.
Middle: Prof. Matassa conducts a presentation on the life of an ecologist
Bottom: Prof. Manning dressed as a pH indicator for a presentation on changing ocean chemistry.