Awards & recognitions

Winter 2026 Departmental Achievements

Posted on February 10, 2026February 16, 2026 by Hannes Baumann

Awards:

Professor Pieter Visscher

Prof. Visscher received a Distinguished Career Award from The Geological Society of America. Over a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Visscher has led advances in our understanding of the complex interactions between microbial communities, biogeochemical cycles, and the formation of sedimentary structures, bridging microbiology and Earth system science. [Read the full citation and reply]

Professor Sandra Shumway

Prof. Shumway was honored as Foreign Fellow by the Korean Academy of Marine Science and became Honorary Life Member in the World Aquaculture Society.

PhD candidate Hannah Collins

Hannah received a Young Outstanding One Health Biology Researcher award from the FUCOBI Foundation of Ecuador for her work on the microbiomes of suspension-feeding bivalves.

PhD candidate Molly James

Mollys' music and science collaboration, Harmony of Nature, with South Korean pianist Sophy Chung and composer Maxwell Lu was recently featured in a Career Feature article in the magazine Nature. The project transforms environmental data and scientific concepts into classical music.

MSc student Anagha Payyambally

Anagha received the UConn@COP Fellowship and had the honor of attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties in November 2025. She traveled to Brazil to observe the climate change negotiations process and meet environmental leaders. She wrote about her experiences in UConn Today.

Grants:

Professor Catherine Matassa

Prof. Matassa received a grant from the National Science Foundation to perform a series of manipulative field and lab experiments on organisms that live in the rocky intertidal zone of our coasts. The goal is to better understand how the risk of being eaten influences the behavior and physiology of prey organisms.

Collaborative Research: Intergenerational effects of predation risk and resource identity on rocky shores: consequences for populations, communities, and ecosystems. NSF $400,267

Professors Elizabeth Weidner & Shuwen Tan

Profs. Weidner and Tan received funding to study the impact of the Connecticut River on sediment transport and deposition in Long Island Sound. The goal of the project is to better understand how changing sediment deposition, due to extreme weather events, may impacts local shellfish beds and provide guidance for aquaculture management and restoration planning.

Mapping Sediment Transport and Deposition Risks to Shellfish Beds in the Tidally Modulated Connecticut River Plume. CT SeaGrant (2026-2028 OMNIBUS, $169,882)

Professors Hannes & Zofia Baumann

In collaboration with partners in Massachusetts, this new project will experimentally simulate electromagnetic fields as they are generated by undersea cables, for example those transporting electricity from offshore wind turbines, and then test their potential effects on the behavior and development of sand lance, a burying fish of great ecological importance in North-Atlantic waters.

Investigating the Impacts of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) on Adult and Larval Sand Lance in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Massachusetts Clean Energy Center $503,831

Professor Samantha Siedlecki

Prof. Siedlecki together with colleagues from NOAA and co-PIs from other US institutions received funding to improve forecasting and develop practical strategies—combining ocean science, industry input, and social research— to create a resilient, adaptive management framework for the Sea Scallop fishery , which is one of the most valuable in the United States (>$500 million per year). Although scallops have long been resilient, they are becoming more vulnerable as rising ocean temperatures and increasing acidity affect their growth and reproduction.

RVA-OA2025 Project Title: Collaborating with Fishing Communities to Adapt: Co-developing actionable strategies for Atlantic Sea Scallop fishing communities. NOAA, $1,133,554

Publications:

Professor Catherine Matassa

Matassa and recent PhD graduate Sean Ryan investigated how a species of seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus) defends itself from herbivorous snails (Littorina littorea) along its latitudinal range in the coastal northeast USA. Are northern seaweeds built tougher?

Ryan, S. and Matassa, C. Latitudinal variation in the constitutive and inducible defences of a canopy-forming rocky intertidal seaweed (2025) Functional Ecology, 2025, 39(12), 3718-3731

Professor David Lund

Lund and graduate student Monica Garity show that changes in ocean circulation and natural alkalinity enhancement played a key role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide in the recent geologic past. The research was featured in UConn Today

Garity, M., Lund, D., Jerris, H., and McBride, J. (2025) Progressively greater biological carbon storage in the deep Atlantic during glacial inception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122, e2510171122

Professor Pieter Visscher

Visscher and colleagues show that instead of whiting events, visible with satellites, calcium carbonate precipitation is mediated in the upper layers of aquatic sediments, and continue there for several millenia. Results suggest a revision of CO2 removal through calcium carbonate precipitation.

Visscher, P.T. et al. (2026) A critical role of heterotrophic bacteria in early diagenesis of carbonates through exopolymer degradation and calcium release. The Depositional Record (16 January 2026)

Professor Heidi Dierssen

Dierssen contributed her expertise in remote sensing methods to new published guidelines for assessing seagrass coverage from areal and space observations. These guidelines help monitoring and assessment of seagrass ecosystems and inform the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework headline indicator “Extent of natural ecosystems”.

Duffy, J.E., ..., Dierssen, H.M., and 21 co-authors (2025) Measuring and Reporting on Seagrass as an Essential Ocean Variable for Science and Management. BioScience biaf199

Professor Hans Dam

A joint team from UConn Marine Sciences/Ecology and Evolution (Professors Dam, Finiguerra, Baumann, and former student James de Mayo) and the University of Vermont (Prof. Pespeni and former postdoc Reid Brennan) used experimental evolution on a marine copepod to show that genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlie resilience to ocean warming and acidification.

Brennan, R.S., J.A. deMayo, M. Finiguerra, H. Baumann, H.G. Dam, and M. Pespeni (2025) Complementary genetic and epigenetic changes facilitate rapid adaptation to multiple global change stressors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(29), e2422782122.

Prof. Dam was also part of a large international group recommending key steps to resolve the disconnect between empirical research and models using planktonic organism to simulate ecosystem responses to global change.

Flynn, K. J., ..., Dam, H. G., ... 30 other authors (2025) More realistic plankton simulation models will improve projections of ocean ecosystem responses to global change. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1-9

Professor Senjie Lin

Prof. Lin published two books in July and August, 2025. "Ecological Genomics of Algae" (CRC Taylor & Francis, 406 pp.) provides an integrative framework linking algal genomes to ecological processes, evolutionary innovation, and environmental adaptation across diverse algal lineages.

"Harmful Algal Blooms: Environmental Factors and Molecular Mechanisms" (Elsevier Academic Press, 306 pp.) integrates environmental forcing with molecular, physiological, and genomic mechanisms to explain the dynamics and impacts of harmful algal blooms.

Professor Hannes Baumann

Baumann's research tested one possible explanation for the increase in black sea bass abundance in Long Island Sound, i.e., that the species may be able to overwinter now in our coastal waters.

Zavell, M.D., Mouland, E.P., Barnum, D.L., Matassa, C.M., Schultz, E.T., and Baumann, H. (2025) Can adult Black Sea Bass overwinter in Long Island Sound, USA? Marine and Coastal Fisheries 17:vtaf014

Professor Robert Mason

A new study showed that atmospheric oxidation of elemental mercury in the Arctic spring can occur over sea ice, not just over land

He, Y. and Mason, R.P. (2026) Direct evidence for sea-ice-driven atmospheric mercury depletion events in the Arctic marginal ice zone. Environmental Science & Technology. Published 1/26.

New laboratory experiments examined how methylmercury accumulates in a dinoflagellate that acquires food via other processes besides photosynthesis

Myer, P.K., Mason, R.P., Baumann, Z.A. (2025) Prey engulfment as the dominant pathway of MeHg uptake in a heterotrophic dinoflagellate. Marine Environmental Research 210:107348

Professor Elizabeth Weidner

Weidner describes novel technology in mapping underwater sea ice - a great summary of which can be found here.

Weidner, E. (2025) Measurements of broadband backscattering from the terminus of a tidewater glacier. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 158, 504–514

Professor emeritus Peter Auster

Auster and colleagues at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center Milford Laboratory show that aquaculture gear can be important fish habitat in coastal waters.

Mercaldo-Allen, R. ..., Auster, P.J., ... (10 authors) (2025) Measures of habitat quality for black sea bass using oyster aquaculture cages. North American Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, 1–16.

Professor emerita Ann Bucklin

The MetaZooGene Intercalibration Experiment (MZG-ICE) was a global effort that confirmed the reliability, accuracy and validity of metabarcoding data for monitoring zooplankton biodiversity.

Blanco-Bercial, L., ... (22 authors), and Bucklin, A. (2026) MetaZooGene Intercalibration Experiment (MZG-ICE): Metabarcoding Marine Zooplankton Diversity of the Global Ocean. Mol Ecol Resources 26(1):e70090

Graduate student Paban Bhuyan

Bhuyan and Prof. Romero demonstrated that autonomous saildrones can accurately measure small-scale ocean currents and their changes across space.

Bhuyan, P., Rocha, C.B., Romero, L., and Farrar, J.T. (2026) Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Measurements from Saildrones, with Applications to Submesoscale Studies. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, e240114

Graduate student Hannah Collins

Collins performed experiments showing how two common species of freshwater mussels selectively ingest or reject microplastics.

Collins, H.I., Olatunji, P.O., Holohan, B.A., Shor, L.M., and Ward, J.E. (2025) Size-based ingestion of microspheres and microfibers by two freshwater mussel species (Dreissena bugensis and Elliptio complanata): Implications for removal of microplastic particles from aquatic systems. Journal of Shellfish Research 44:309-321.

Graduate student Halle Berger

Berger coupled a bioenergetic with a regional ocean model, predicting that warming initially enhances Atlantic sea scallop growth, but by 2100 scallops grow faster yet reach smaller sizes due to the combined effects of acidification and warming.

Berger, H. M., Siedlecki, S. A., Meseck, S. L., Pousse, E., Hart, D. R., Soares, F., Chute, A., & Matassa, C. M. (2026) Modeling the spatiotemporal effects of ocean acidification and warming on Atlantic sea scallop growth to guide adaptive fisheries management. Ecological Modelling 513:111434

DMS Prof. Pieter Visscher honored with GSA Career Award

Posted on February 5, 2026February 9, 2026 by Hannes Baumann

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Pieter Visscher for receiving the Geological Society of America’s 2025 Distinguished Career Award (sponsored by the Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division).

Pieter is honored for his decade-long involvement in an NSF-sponsored project that has worked with undergraduate students studying microbial sediments in Puerto Rico. Between 2000 and 2011, Pieter brought 68 of these students to Avery Point for a two-week geomicrobiology short course. None of these first-generation college students had visited the continental US before. His continued encouragement inspired over 60 students in this program to pursue graduate degrees in the US. He taught this course twice in France, once in Argentina, and once in Chile.

Pieter is further commended for his pioneering Astrobiology work, pursuing the fundamental questions: Where are we coming from, where are we going, and what is our future? His tireless curiosity ultimately led to the establishment of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (NAI) in 1998; the product of a four-decade-long collaboration with scholars, scientists, and engineers from around the country.

We asked Pieter to name a key paper from the many published in his career - he chose his 2020 study of arsenotrophic microbial mats that allow inferring our past:

Visscher P.T., K.L. Gallagher, A. Bouton, M.E. Farias, D. Kurth, B.P. Burns, M.R. Walter, M. Sancho-Tomas, P. Philippot, A. Somogyi, K. Medjoubi, E. Vennin, R. Bourillot, M. Contreras, C. Dupraz. 2020. Modern arsenotrophic microbial mats provide an analogue for life in the anoxic Archean. Nature Communications Earth & Environment 1:24

by Tracy Frank:

Pieter T. Visscher. Over a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Visscher has led advances in our understanding of the complex interactions between microbial communities, biogeochemical cycles, and the formation of sedimentary structures, bridging microbiology and Earth system science. His pioneering studies of microbial mats and stromatolites across a range of settings have illuminated the role of microbes in shaping Earth’s surface environments through time, while his innovative approaches to microbial processes in modern and ancient settings have inspired new directions in research. His atmospheric biosignature studies were instrumental for NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, of which he was a co-founding member. A prolific scholar and respected mentor, Dr. Visscher has authored hundreds of influential publications and trained generations of graduate students who continue to advance the discipline worldwide. His research, collaborations, and leadership have had a transformative impact on geomicrobiology, leaving a legacy that will guide the science for decades to come.

Pieter: Thank you, Tracy, for your kind citation. I am honored to receive this recognition, which has been previously awarded to geochemists, paleontologists, sedimentologists, and geobiologists for whom I have great respect.

As many know, the term geobiology was coined by Lourens G.M. Baas Becking, but not in his monograph “Geobiologie”, published in 1934, but in his inaugural lecture at the University of Leiden on January 28, 1931, entitled “Gaia of leven en aarde”. In this lecture, Baas Becking observed a then recent change in natural and physical scientific research that for the first time were deployed jointly to understand our planet. Furthermore, he expanded his observation that chemistry, biology, and geology did not just apply to the understanding of our planet Earth but provided the foundation for understanding the universe, which he argued was fueled by cyclic events - notably chemical element cycles, but also (micro)biological metabolisms, and physical phenomena, the mutual impact of which was captured in geological time and space. In a way, this laid the groundwork for what, 65 years later, became a motivation for NASA’s Pale Blue Dot II meeting that, in turn, started Astrobiology. Baas Becking viewed geobiology as a Copernican-based science, in other words, perceived not from an anthropocentric, Earth-centric viewpoint, but from a geocentric one. What really matters is that geo(micro)biology is a transdisciplinary science, not just a multidisciplinary one. The answer to “big questions” in this discipline is best solved by first assessing which disciplinary tools are needed, not just by combining disciplinary views that address the question. Despite incredible advances in methodologies in the last four decades, each approach has its limitations. This is critical to remember.

My educational background is based on a combination of organic chemistry and the Delft School of Microbiology – that, in addition to Baas Backing, also included Beijerinck, Kluyver, and van Niel. In addition to having a great mentor, Hans van Gemerden, who combined detailed observations and measurements in the field with meaningful ecophysiological laboratory experiments, I have had the good fortune to meet many scientists who have shaped our discipline as we know it today. The list is quite exhaustive, but I would like to mention a handful of them here briefly, some unsung heroes in geomicrobiology, in chronological order.

Wolfgang Krumbein was instrumental during my PhD work on sulfur cycling at the University of Groningen. After a long 24 hours of fieldwork, being in a group that was the first to use microelectrodes in the field during diel cycles, a very tedious process at the time, he would sit me down in his cigar-smoke-filled office and question me about everything I had observed and was planning to do as follow-up. Early in my grad student years, he sent me a box with well over a hundred of his reprints. Using geology and microbiology, his strong belief that the laminae in stromatolites are the same as those in microbial mats may be wrong, but it nevertheless challenged our thinking and steered us in the right direction to better understand the role of microbes on early Earth and throughout geologic time. Spending three weeks with Dick Castenholz and Bev Pierson in Yellowstone was a life-changing event. The vast diversity of environments in a relatively small area was an eye-opener. Likewise, several long discussions, both in the field and during elegant home-cooked meals with Malcolm Walter, have contributed much to advancing my work. Lynn Margulis, who, by the way, together with James Lovelock reintroduced the term Gaia in 1974, 43 years after Baas Becking, Ed Leadbetter, Ron Oremland, Jack Farmer, and Dave DesMarais were all instrumental as post-doc and early career mentors. Generous scientists who gave selfless advice and listened. I learned a lot from them and expanded my scientific and interpersonal horizons. It takes a village….

I would like to thank the people who are keeping our field alive: the leaders of the professional societies, notably the Division of Geobiology and Geomicrobiology of Geological Society of America, the reviewers of our proposals and manuscripts, the program directors at funding agencies, the educators, who sparked the interest in students who then come as graduate assistants or post-docs to our labs, and all those students and colleagues with whom I had many fruitful/stimulating discussions and rewarding collaborations. I am excited about the direction in which our field is moving, and hope that we jointly continue to combine the many subdisciplines that make up geo(micro)biology in a meaningful way to unlock the secrets that our field holds in shaping our planet and the many worlds beyond.

Avery Point Spotlight: Jeff Godfrey

Posted on February 5, 2026February 10, 2026 by Hannes Baumann

By: Anne L. Gilewski

Officially, Jeff is an Academic Assistant at UConn's Marine Sciences Department, but if you’ve ever been lucky enough to interact with Jeff, you know he’s far more than that. Over his 26-year career directing dive operations, Jeff standardized a formal curriculum that includes course work for Open Water Dive and Scientific Diving training and certification. He also maintained all facilities and equipment, approved dive plans, and has been part of countless research projects that require dive operations.

Every superhero has an origin story, so we asked Jeff to share his!

Growing up in Utah, Jeff had three dream jobs in his mind: paleontologist, astronaut, or diver. After watching cartoons, Jeff would switch over to Sea Hunt, a 1958 program about the adventures of an ex-Navy frogman, starring a very handsome Lloyd Bridges. After that was The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, a series that often served as inspiration for future marine biologists—including Jeff.

Despite living in a landlocked state, diving found Jeff. During his senior year in high school, when he wasn’t racing motorcycles and boating, Jeff took a diving certification course after school class—a move he says was a good way to get out of chores. Though the impetus may have been to avoid milking the cows, that course set the stage for a lifelong passion.

Jeff set out to build up a collection of certifications, started snorkeling, free diving, and collecting daphnia and salamanders for local aquarium stores. At 24, he earned his Dive Instructor certification. In 1987, while earning his bachelor’s degree in Applied Biology from Utah State University, Jeff joined the Utah Fish & Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit as a Field Tech and Research Diver. Being a field diver is most decidedly not a desk job. A typical day might be ice diving in the Flaming Gorge reservoir, or monitoring trout habitat in the Green River, maybe even donning 90 extra pounds to face the white water of the Green River!

After graduation, Jeff accepted a position at the Marine Resources Development Center Underwater Foundation’s MarineLab program in Key Largo, FL. Jeff taught Marine Ecology to students of all ages, conducting lectures on seagrasses, marine algae, mangroves, coral reefs, astronomy, and marine invertebrates—to name a few. A chance phone call from Avery Point librarian Jan Heckman about an open Dive Safety Office position in a small Connecticut town piqued his interest. In 1999, Jeff and his family moved north, and the rest is history. (Thank you, Jan!)

Amongst all the diving Jeff had done, we had to know: What was the most memorable? (Spoiler alert! It was hard to choose).

“Blue water diving in Antarctica. To see that environment—icebergs, Deception, Palmer Station”, Australia, Hong Kong, China, American Samoa, and everywhere in the United States.” Jeff also had the opportunity to dive the USS Monitor and take part in a National Geographic survey in the Bahamas—diving to 430 feet!

We asked Jeff what it takes to be a DSO at a university. Here’s his advice:

DSOs facilitate dive operations to be done safely and efficiently. Jeff strongly believes in looking at universities that have a well-developed program. A STEM degree, with coursework in physics, chemistry, and biology, is a critical piece. A research DSO needs to have a solid science background to effectively communicate with investigators—graduate degrees are not uncommon in this field. Most importantly, spend a lot of time in the water. Diving is a tool; for a diver to be useful, they need to have extensive experience in a variety of conditions.

Any final thoughts?

Jeff is grateful to UConn for supporting his endeavors to increase technology for scientific diving here at Avery Point. His hope for the future? UConn continues to push students to take advantage of these advanced technologies in their academic pursuits.

Thank you, Jeff, for 26 years of service. We wish you the best in your retirement!

Spring 2025 Departmental Achievements

Posted on January 23, 2026January 23, 2026 by Hannes Baumann

Awards:

Professor Senjie Lin

Prof. Lin received the Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America, honoring his research to better understand the biology of two distinct groups of marine phytoplankton (diatoms and dinoflagellates) that play a major role in global nutrient cycling and phytoplankton community dynamics.

PhD candidate Hannah Collins

Hannah received the World Aquaculture Society Student Spotlight award recognizing the best abstracts submitted by student to the Aquaculture 2025 meeting.

PhD candidate Halle Berger

Halle Berger received the Best Student Poster Award at the 2025 winter science meeting of the Southern New England Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. The poster was about Halle's research on modeling the effects of ocean acidification and warming on Atlantic sea scallop growth to inform adaptive fisheries management.

Grants:

Professors Cara Manning, Leonel Romero, Samantha Siedlecki

Profs Manning, Romero, and Siedlecki have received a $499,570 grant from the Long Island Sound Study Research Grant Program to investigate the drivers of oxygen depletion (hypoxia), and the duration and severity of low-oxygen conditions in western Long Island Sound using a combination of observational and modeling approaches.

Improved Mechanistic Understanding of Hypoxia Drivers in Western Long Island Sound Enabled with Data from a Wire-Following Profiler and Coupled Biogeochemical-Hydrodynamic Modeling

Professor Senjie Lin

Algae are both natural and industrial sources of renewable energy. Collaborating in a Columbia University-led multi-million-dollar project, Prof. Senjie Lin will lead his UConn team and contribute expertise on microalgae to advance the development of algae-based electricity-generating technologies.

ECO-SPARK: Enzymatic Conversion of Organic Carbon into Sustainable Power through Aquatic Reactors and Kinetics, DARPA $1,500,000

Publications:

Prof. Rob Mason

Samples for measuring the concentrations of different forms of mercury in the Pacific Ocean waters were collected on a research expedition from Alaska to Tahiti and analyzed by our research group and those of our collaborators. Former student Yipeng He and Robert Mason participated in the cruise and were involved in the sample analysis.

Starr, L.D., He, Y., Mason, R.P., Hammerschmidt, C.R., Newell, S.E., Lamborg, C.H. 2025. Mercury distribution and speciation along the U.S. GEOTRACES GP15 Pacific Meridional Transect. JGR Oceans 130: Article # 130e2024JC021672.

He, Y., Inman, H., Kadko, D.C., Stephens, M.P, Hammond, D.E., Landing, W.M., Mason, R.P. 2025. Elevated methylmercury in Arctic rain and aerosol linked to air-sea exchange of dimethylmercury
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr3805.

Samples were collected on a research expedition in the Bering and Chukchi Seas off Alaska in the atmosphere and in the ocean waters to examine the factors effecting the inputs of various mercury (Hg) compounds to the ocean from the atmosphere and the loss of gaseous forms of Hg to the atmosphere, with a focus on the exchange of methylated Hg forms.

Zhou, C., Liu, M., Mason, R.P., Assavapanuvat, P., Zhang, N.H., Bianchi, T.S., Zhang, Q., Li, X. Sun, R., Chen, J., Wang, Raymond, P.A. 2025. Warming-induced retreat of West Antarctic glaciers weakened carbon sequestration ability but increased mercury enrichment. Nature Communications 16: Article # 1831.

The publication examined how the recent changes in climate is affecting the inputs of mercury (Hg) to the ocean waters off of Antarctica and the relative importance of inputs from the continent versus inputs from the atmosphere, and how these inputs differ for Hg compared to carbon. The study used information from ancient sediments to infer what will likely happen in the future in a changing climate.

Prof. Samantha Siedlecki

Carlson, A. J., Siedlecki, S. A., Granger, J., Veitch, J., Pitcher, G. C., Fearon, G., et al. (2025). Seasonal source water changes and winds contribute to the development of hypoxia in St Helena Bay within the southern Benguela upwelling system. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130, e2024JC021702. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JC021702

This work discusses oxygen dynamics in St. Helena Bay (SHB), a productive area in the southern Benguela Upwelling System off western South Africa severely impacted by low oxygen events through fish mortality events. Specifically, it highlights the seasonal cycle of oxygen, including periods of hypoxia and anoxia, and the role of winds and source water changes in driving these variations.

Professor Hannes Baumann

Mosca, K.C., Savoy, T., R. Benway, J., Ingram, E.C., Schultz, E.T., and Baumann, H. (2025) Age structure and seasonal movement patterns of Atlantic sturgeon aggregating in eastern Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River. Fishery Bulletin 123:127-142

This study combined age analysis and telemetry to show that Atlantic sturgeon of all sizes frequently migrate into upper, freshwater portion of the Connecticut River

Jones, L.F., Schembri, S., Bouchard, C., and Baumann, H. (2025) Molecular identification of larval sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) caught in the Hudson Bay System 2010-2018. Environmental Biology of Fishes 108:305–316

PhD student Lucas Jones used genetics to find out what sand lance species inhabits the Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic.

Research Prof. Zofia Baumann

Hansen, G., Shumway, S. E., Mason, R. P., & Baumann, Z. (2025). Mercury distribution with size between the tissues of the northern quahog (= hard clam)(Mercenaria mercenaria). Environmental Pollution, 126287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126287

This study examined the distribution of inorganic mercury (iHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in the soft tissues of hard clams (quahogs) and found that muscular tissues contained a higher proportion of MeHg, while the viscera and mantle also harbored inorganic Hg.

Graduate student Eva Scrivner

Scrivner, E., Mladenov, N., Biggs, T., Grant, A., Piazza, E., Garcia, S., Lee, C.M., Ade, C., Tufillaro, N., Grötsch, P., Zurita, O., Holt, B., Sousa, D., 2025. Hyperspectral characterization of wastewater in the Tijuana River Estuary using laboratory, field, and EMIT satellite spectroscopy. Science of The Total Environment 981, 179598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179598

The research links the chemical composition of effluent wastewater discharge in the Tijuana River Estuary with laboratory, field, and hyperspectral satellite spectroscopy. This work serves to inform real-time water quality monitoring in a heavily polluted coastal urban center.

Celebrating Student Research at the 15th Biennial Feng Colloquium

Posted on May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 by Hannes Baumann

By Samantha Rush.

On May 15, 2025, the Department of Marine Sciences hosted the 15^th Biennial Feng Graduate Research Colloquium. Named in honor of the first department head, Dr. Sung Y. Feng, the colloquium serves as a professional development event for our departments graduate students, who hone their skills in abstract writing, posters presentations and research talks. This year’s program featured 18 talks and 22 posters showcasing the breadth of multidisciplinary work across the department.

Started by Dr. Hans Dam in 1996, the 2025 Feng Steering Committee included Dr. Julie Granger, Emily Watling, Yifan Zhu, and Anne Gilewski. This year’s event also featured artwork by Matthew Leason and was made possible with the support of DMS staff, particularly Deb Schuler and Todd Fake. The event continues to be a valuable platform for students to hone their scientific communication skills, receive feedback, and share their work across the department.

Check out the talks, posters, and their abstracts here!

Check out a few more impressions from the day below!

Meet Janet Laflamme: The Jack-of-all Trades Driving Our Department’s Success

Posted on May 1, 2025May 20, 2025 by Hannes Baumann

Samantha: I found that you obtained your bachelor’s degree in biology/biological sciences at UConn in the 1980s and later went back to school to obtain your associate’s degree in accounting after almost 20 years at Pfizer. Can you share a little about your time at Pfizer and your journey to accounting?

Janet: I spent 18 years at Pfizer as a research chemist. My work was on metabolic diseases, so many of the projects I worked on were focused on diabetes and obesity. I worked with a PhD chemist synthesizing, isolating, and identifying the novel chemical compound targets which were then submitted for biological testing. Within Pfizer, there were a lot of opportunities for advancement but as time went by it became much more challenging to juggle work/life balance and my three children needed me at home. So, in 2005, I left Pfizer and stayed home to care for my kids. Once my youngest was in school, I felt that an accounting degree would be the best for flexibility and location. Although I was 47 years old starting a new career, the change just made sense! When I was finishing my accounting degree, I was encouraged to apply for this job at UConn. The Department of Marine Sciences was a great opportunity, and it even brought me back to my alma mater.

Samantha: So, when did you officially start working at UConn? Can you describe your initial role within the Department of Marine Sciences and how that has changed over time?

Janet: I officially began in August 2012 as a Financial Assistant. Initially, my role was to fill the shoes of Pat Evans, who was headed to retirement. I had 3 years to learn everything before she retired! Now, my official title is Financial Assistant 2 Expert Level at UConn.

Samantha: I have interacted with you quite a bit, especially with shipping equipment around the world, so I know you do a multitude of different things! You undoubtedly serve an integral role in this department. Could you share some of the many tasks that keep you busy? How would you describe your day to day in the department?

Janet: I am a jack of all trades! I support all of the back end work related to purchasing, purchase orders, and credit cards. I ensure that all accounts are handled properly to make UConn audit proof. Beyond just the research support, I also work with shipping, undergraduate payroll, and reimbursements. I also support efforts related to the boat and dive locker, and I do a lot of problem solving. This is just like science in the sense that I am multitasking across different skills and disciplines to reach the end goal. Besides these specific tasks, my day-to-day does involve a lot of interruptions. While there are just 100 people in this department, I also interact with the main campus, so I end up with a lot to balance between all different people.

Samantha: You are truly doing so many different things to support all the workings of the department! What would you say are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?

Janet: The most rewarding part is definitely watching the students grow and seeing where they all end up, especially the graduate students. I enjoy having the ability to see the success from the sidelines of the direct research over the years. It is also rewarding to see the opportunities that women have now, that my generation just did not. I would say that the most challenging part of my job is the moments when many people need many things at the same time. I may have phone calls, red flag emails, and someone in my office at the same time, and that can be very chaotic! At one point, I was independent as the staff was transitioning within the department. That was certainly tough, but Elizabeth Rawlinson (another Financial Assistant in the Department of Marine Sciences) more evenly spreads the weight of the many tasks.

Samantha: What have you seen change most in the department over time?

Janet: There has been an increase and extension of global research. The department has grown over time with added faculty positions and disciplines. However, the involvement in shipping and travelling globally has exploded.

Samantha: Now considering you worked for both Pfizer and UConn Avery Point (right down the road from each other), I have to ask: are you local to this part of CT?

Janet: Yes, I am originally from Norwich, CT. My dad was in the U.S. Navy, so we moved up and down the seaboard, but I always loved this area. I did not necessarily think I would have a job also related to the ocean, but I couldn’t imagine not being along the coastline.

Samantha: And for fun, when you are not at work, what could we find you doing?

Janet: I would usually say that you could find me reading, but I am currently being bossed around by my 3-year-old grandson! He keeps me quite busy, but he is certainly gifting me with a very full life in this season.

Samantha: That is so wonderful! Thank you so much for setting aside some time in your busy day for me! Your role is so greatly appreciated in the department, and we couldn’t do very much without you!

And as soon as I stepped out, someone walked in right behind me with a question! She certainly does so much to hold us all together.

DMS sophomore to study if tiny algae grow calcium carbonate crystals

Posted on February 12, 2025February 12, 2025 by Hannes Baumann

Evelyn Lewis glances at the well plates full of colorful slime in Prof. Visscher’s lab and smiles. The life thriving in there is invisible to the naked eye, but she knows how to keep the microscopic critters happy. For almost a year now, she has helped taking care of them, and this has helped others in the lab with their research projects.

But now, Evelyn is starting a project of her own. Her soft voice betrays the nascent excitement, as she examines a well plate full of what looks like crusty, white dust.

“These are calcium carbonate crystals, and they look so beautiful under the microscope”, she says.

Thanks to a new supply grant from UConn’s Office for Undergraduate research, she will now have the opportunity to look at many more of these crystals. Evelyn’s research will focus on some of the smallest photosynthetic organisms in world, cyanobacteria. When they bloom they often coat themselves in slime that they can chemically manipulate. The conditions in this extracellular slime might then become favorable to bind carbon dioxide (CO₂) in form of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), ultimately removing it from the atmosphere. In other words, cyanobacteria may be tiny but mighty as a natural tool for combating the increase of heat-trapping CO2 in the atmosphere.

“These natural options of using microbial slime for CO₂ removal remain surprisingly underexplored”, explains Visscher. “The slime binds calcium and when it sinks to the bottom, it supports CaCO₃ formation in sediments for thousands of years. This recently discovered mechanism provides novel insights into the global carbon cycle.”

So over the course of the next months, Evelyn will culture cyanobacteria again – but this time for her project. In small well plates, she will measure their CaCO₃ production for about two weeks in relation to differing amounts of calcium. Yet the arguably coolest part will come after that, when the collected crystals will be examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).

Ultimately, the gathered data will allow testing the overarching hypothesis that the presence of cyanobacteria increases CaCO₃ precipitation.

Summary of Summer/Fall 2024 Departmental Achievements

Posted on December 2, 2024March 8, 2025 by Hannes Baumann

Awards:

Professor Samantha Siedlecki

Prof. Siedlecki was named as a 2024 – 2025 Fullbright Scholar for research in both Italy and South Africa, which has been featured at UConn Today

Professor Hans Dam

Professor Dam had the honor of giving the Maxilliped Lecture on “Copepods as Model Systems for the Study of the Response of the Biota to Global Change” during the 15th International Conference on Copepoda held in Hiroshima, Japan.

Research Faculty Sandra Shumway

Dr. Shumway was awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award by the US Aquaculture Society and is the first female to receive the award. She was also appointed Fellow of the Marine Biological Association, FMBA. MBA Fellows are senior practitioners in marine biology who have contributed to the discipline at the highest level. The title of Fellow of the Marine Biological Association, FMBA, was first awarded in 2014, following granting of a Royal Charter to the Marine Biological Association. There are currently 50 MBA Fellows.

Professor Senjie Lin

Professor Lin has been awarded the 2024 UConn-AAUP Excellence Award in as well as the 2024 Alumni Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creativity.

Research Scientist Susan A. Smith (Mystic Aquarium):

Sue won first place in Animal Welfare Research for her presentation at the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference in Calgary. Her work involved the use of non-invasive fecal samples to elucidate the microbiome and hormone profile of the African Penguin, along with the development of a genetic sexing test, which will soon be used to aid in the monitoring of endangered wild populations in South Africa.

PhD student Paxton Tomko

Paxton was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRFP) for research with Professor Pieter Visscher, which was featured at UConn Today

PhD Candidate Halle Berger

Halle was awarded the 2024 National Marine Fisheries-Sea Grant Fellowship by NOAA making her the first UConn student to ever receive the award.

Grants:

Professor Senjie Lin

Prof Lin will collaborate with the University of Columbia and Yale University on a DARPA-funded multi-year (2024-2027) project that aims to utilize algal genomics to develop biosensors for various environmental stimuli

MEBES: Modular engineered biosensors for environmental sensing

Research Professor Paola Batta-Lona, Professor Hannes Baumann

Led by UConn EEB professor Eric Schultz, co-PIs Batta-Lona and Baumann will collect and analyze novel data on short- and long-term changes in the trophic ecology of species of greatest conservation need.

Bottoming Out? Testing Hypotheses on Why Long Island Sound Flatfishes Are Disappearing (Long Island Sound Study, $316,667).

Professor Heidi Dierssen and Research Professor Paola Batta-Lona

In collaboration with colleagues from URI, Dierssen and Batta-Lona will use eDNA to characterize biological communities in shallow seafloor, deep-sea seafloor, and offshore midwater acoustic soundscapes. Additionally remote sensing data and Distributed Sensing enabled Cabled Observatories (DiSCO’s) will be used for broader scale understanding of major ocean processes in these areas.

Coastal and Offshore Biogeochemical Oceanographic Observatories Enabled with Distributed Sensing (NIUVT, $2,126,000)

Research Scientist Zhuomin Chen

Projecting future changes in the Gulf Stream warm-core rings and their impacts on the Northeast U.S. Large Marine Ecosystem in a changing climate using regional MOM6 simulations (NOAA $570,000)

Research Scientist Tracy Romano (Mystic Aquarium) and Associate Professor in Residence Michael Finiguerra:

Drs Romano and Finiguerra were awarded an NSF grant to continue leading the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program through an ongoing collaboration with Mystic Aquarium and the University of Connecticut Avery Point campus.

Romano, T.A., Finiguerra, M. REU Site Mystic Aquarium: Collaborative Research: Plankton to Whales: Consequences of Global Change within Marine Ecosystems. National Science Foundation. $464,997.

Research Scientists Ebru Unal and Tracy Romano (Mystic Aquarium):
Drs Unal and Romano were awarded a North Pacific Research Board grant to further study the transcriptome of the beluga whale for the monitoring of wild populations, in an effort to isolate the health-related expression discrepancies between healthy and endangered populations.

Romano, T.A., Unal, E. The Beluga Skin Transcriptome as a Novel Tool for Monitoring Alaska’s Beluga Stocks. North Pacific Research Board. $244,601

Dr. Romano also received funding by the North Pacific Research Board to design and run a cultural exchange that allowed young Native Alaskans to visit Connecticut, where they met with local CT Native American youth, and together took part in educational and cultural workshops.

Romano, T.A., A Science Based Educational and Cultural Exchange Workshop at Mystic Aquarium for Alaska Native and Native American Youth. $20,000

Publications:

Prof. Hans Dam

Prof. Dam co-authored a study about the negative effects of marine heatwaves on copepods. The authors found that acclimation (“getting used to”) and parental effects (“the fate of the children depends on the experience of the parents”) mitigate the negative effects of heat waves on the fitness of two important copepod species.

Sasaki, M.C, M. Finiguerra, H.G. Dam. 2024. Seasonally variable thermal performance curves prevent adverse effects of heatwaves. Journal of Animal Ecology 2024;00:1–11. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14221

Graduate student Samantha Rush and Professor Penny Vlahos

This study reports on how sea ice in the Arctic Ocean incorporates and stores boron as it forms, reducing the amount of boron from under ice waters.

Rush, S., Vlahos, P., Lee, C.-H., Lee, K., Barrett, L. J. Boron to salinity ratios in the Fram Strait entering the Central Arctic: The role of sea ice formation and future predictions. Marine Chemistry. 267:104463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2024.104463

DMS alumnus Max Zavell and Professor Hannes Baumann

Zavell and Baumann show that the embryos and larvae of an abundant grouper species in Long Island Sound are unaffected by even very high CO2 levels in the water.

Zavell, M.D. and Baumann, H. (2024) Resiliency of Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata, early life stages to future high CO2 conditions. Environmental Biology of Fishes 107:677–691

Research Prof. Paola Batta-Lona and Prof. Ann Bucklin

This morphological and molecular analysis revealed the diet differences of 7 mesopelagic fish species, showing the importance of gelatinous prey.

Bucklin, A., Batta-Lona, P.G., Questel, J., McMonagle, H., Wojcicki, M., Llopiz, J.K., Glancy, S., Caiger, P.E., Francolini, R., Govindarajan, A., Thorrold, S.R., Jech, M., Wiebe, P.H. (2024). Metabarcoding and morphological analysis of diets of mesopelagic fishes in the NW Atlantic Slope water. Front Mar Sci. 11:1411996. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1411996

Batta-Lona also published a study on the diet diversity of three salp species, which showed a wide variety of prey, broadening our understanding of trophic pathways in the mesopelagic food web.

Batta-Lona, P.G., Gardner, K., Questel, J.M., Thorrold, S.R., Llopiz, J.L., Wiebe, P.H., Bucklin, A. (2024). Salps in the NW Atlantic Slope Water: metabarcoding and compound-specific stable isotope analysis of diet diversity and trophic interactions. Mar Biol 171, 233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-024-04535-x

Batta-Lona further published a study that identified parrot fish larvae via morphology and DNA sequences.

Morales‐Pulido, J. M., Galindo‐Sánchez, C. E., Jiménez‐Rosenberg, S. P. A., Batta‐Lona, P. G., Herzka, S. Z., Arteaga, M. C. (2024). A molecular approach to identify parrotfish (Sparisoma) species during early ontogeny. Journal of Fish Biology 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15921

Batta-Lona was also involved in the MetaZooGene Atlas and Database (MZGdb) provides DNA sequences for multiple genes, with unique capacity for searches by ocean region.

O'Brien, T., Blanco-Bercial, L., Questel, J.M., Batta-Lona, P.G., Bucklin, A. (2024). MetaZooGene Atlas and Database: Reference Sequences for Marine Ecosystems. Methods in molecular biology 2744: 475-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3581-0_28

Prof. Peter Auster

Prof. Auster used diver surveys of reef fish off Florida to map predation risk to coral eating fishes.

Auster, P.J. and M.E. Cullerton. 2024. Can variation in fish predator density and the Landscape of Fear facilitate coral restoration success? Reef Encounter 39:48-50.

In another study, Prof. Auster and colleagues argue that the term "destructive fishing" is used in international agreements and guidance without agreement on what this term means.

McCarthy, A.H., D. Steadman, H. Richardson, J. Murphy, S. Benbow, J.I. Brian, H. Brooks, G. Costa-Domingo, C. Hazin, C. McOwen, J. Walker, D. Willer, M. Abdi, P.J. Auster, ..., N. Mukherjee. 2024. Destructive fishing: An expert‐driven definition and exploration of this quasi‐concept. Conservation Letters, e13015. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13015

Post-doctoral researcher Danielle Freeman

Dr. Freeman published an article together with colleagues at WHOI that forecasts the effects of sunlight-driven chemistry during oil spills.

Freeman, D. H.; Nelson, R. K.; Pate, K.; Reddy, C. M.; Ward, C. P. (2024) Forecasting Photo-Dissolution for Future Oil Spills at Sea: Effects of Oil Properties and Composition. Environ Sci Technol. 58: 15236-15245 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c05169

Research Scientist Ebru Unal (Mystic Aquarium):
Dr. Unal showed that skin samples can reveal relevant differences between endangered and stable beluga whale populations.

Unal, E., V. Singh, R. Suydam, C.E. Goertz, and T.A. Romano. (2024). Comparative skin transcriptome analysis as a potential tool to investigate intra- and inter-population differences in belugas. Frontiers in Marine Science: Marine Conservation and Sustainability. 11:1282210

Research Scientist Tracy A. Romano (Mystic Aquarium):

Aerial photogrammetry and lipid analyses can be used to describe the body condition of wild endangered St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whales.

Sherill, M., A. Bernier-Graveline, J. Ewald, Z. Pang, M. Moisan, M. Marzeliere, M. Muzzy, T.A. Romano, R. Michaud, and J. Verreault. (2024). Scaled mass index derived from aerial photogrammetry associated with predicted metabolic pathway disruptions in free ranging St. Lawrence Estuary belugas Frontiers in Marine Science. 11:1360374.

Danielle A. Lavoie (Mystic Aquarium):

This study provided insight into the detection of the invasive nematode parasite A. crassus using identification monitorting methods that allow for the survival of the host A. rostrata (the American eel).

Lavoie, D.L., Oliveira, K. (2024). Non-Lethal Detection of the Invasive American Eel Parasite Anguillicoloides crassus. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms.

Professor Michael Whitney promoted to Full Professor

Posted on November 25, 2024November 27, 2024 by Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Professor Michael Whitney who has been promoted to Full Professor. Professor Whitney is an expert in coastal and estuarine physical oceanography and investigates physical dynamics such as river plumes, freshwater-saltwater mixing, tidal flows, and the impacts of bathymetry on circulation. He also researches the effects of these physical dynamics on water quality and the transport of debris, organisms, contaminants, and other chemicals. His research uses a combination of modeling and observational approaches including data collection and assimilation. To date he has published 43 research articles and received nearly $5 million in research funding as lead and co-principal investigator. Professor Whitney has active grants that support research on the transport of oyster larvae and harmful bacteria and the Icelandic Coastal Current.

Professor Whitney is actively engaged in education of our undergraduate, graduate, and certificate program students by teaching Physical Oceanography, Oceanographic Data Analysis, and River Influences on the Marine Environment. He has served as major advisor to nine MS and PhD students, involves undergraduates in his research, and participates in many outreach activities for local youth. He is actively engaged in service to the department, university, and broader scientific community including being the faculty point of contact and developer for our new Graduate Certificate in Oceanographic Science & Technology.

Professor Whitney joined UConn as an assistant professor in 2005 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and full professor in 2024. He has been Associate Head of the Department of Marine Sciences since August 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Whitney on your achievements and thank you for your contributions to UConn and the scientific community!

Professor Julie Granger promoted to Full Professor

Posted on November 25, 2024November 27, 2024 by Manning, Cara

Congratulations to Professor Julie Granger who has been promoted to Full Professor!

Professor Granger is an internationally renowned expert in nitrogen biogeochemistry who studies how nitrogen influences ocean productivity. She has led foundational research on how different microbial processes fractionate nitrogen and oxygen isotopes, the results of which have been applied by a wide community of researchers. Her active research projects include studying nitrogen and oxygen biogeochemistry in the southern Benguela Upwelling System, studying nutrient cycling in the Arctic Ocean, and researching how nutrient and metal limitation influences microbial ecosystems in the Southern Ocean and low-nutrient gyres. Professor Granger is a recipient of an NSF CAREER award and has received over $4 million in research grant funding.

Professor Granger teaches a research-based and community-engaged course, Measurements and Analysis in Coastal Ecosystems, which is taken by all of our senior Marine Sciences majors. Students synthesize what they have learned throughout their degree by investigating causes of water quality impairment in local watersheds and communicating the results to the public. Students enjoy the opportunity to apply their knowledge and develop skills that they will use in the workforce after graduation. She also teaches graduate courses including Isotope Biogeochemistry and Geological Oceanography.

Professor Granger has served as major advisor to nine MS and PhD students, regularly employs undergraduates in her research laboratory, and hosts graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from other institutions to conduct research at UConn.

She actively contributes to department and university service, and to the broader scientific community including developing standards for the measurement of nitrogen fixation rates and publishing oceanic trace element and isotope data (GEOTRACES database).

Professor Granger joined UConn as an assistant professor in 2011 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017 and full professor in 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Granger on your achievements and contributions to UConn and the scientific community!

Marine Sciences

Awards & recognitions

Winter 2026 Departmental Achievements

Awards:

Grants:

Publications:

DMS Prof. Pieter Visscher honored with GSA Career Award

Citation

Reply

Avery Point Spotlight: Jeff Godfrey

Spring 2025 Departmental Achievements

Awards:

Grants:

Publications:

Celebrating Student Research at the 15th Biennial Feng Colloquium

Meet Janet Laflamme: The Jack-of-all Trades Driving Our Department’s Success

DMS sophomore to study if tiny algae grow calcium carbonate crystals

A supply grant from UConn's Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) will test whether cyanobacteria could assist with removing carbon dioxide

Summary of Summer/Fall 2024 Departmental Achievements

Awards:

Grants:

Publications:

Professor Michael Whitney promoted to Full Professor

Professor Julie Granger promoted to Full Professor