The ocean is filled with a myriad of life forms, but many people don’t think of the shoreline itself as “living.” Through a new project, James O’Donnell, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut, and collaborators from Sacred Heart University will collect data and develop statistical measures to improve tracking of Connecticut’s living shoreline projects.

Click here to read the complete article:

https://innovation.uconn.edu/news/297/Tracking%20Connecticut%E2%80%99s%20Living%20Shoreline

Almost 30 members of the Department of Marine Sciences attended the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon last month. The weeklong conference (February 11-16, 2018) brought together close to 4,000 attendees and covered all topics of oceanography, and other related fields. Many graduate students presented posters and gave oral presentations throughout the week. Professors, post-docs, and research staff presented their work as well. A handful also attended the 4^th US Ocean Acidification PI Meeting held the days following the conference.

Following are those who attended:

Allison Byrd, graduate student

Steven Deignan-Schmidt, graduate student

Michelle Fogarty, graduate student

Jessica Hinckley, undergraduate student

Molly James, graduate student

Yan Jia, graduate student

Christopher Murray, graduate student

Veronica Rollinson, graduate student

Allison Staniec, graduate student

Qiang Sun (1) (2), graduate student

Heidi Yeh, graduate student

Alejandro Cifuentes-Lorenzen, postdoctoral research associate

Emma Cross, postdoctoral research associate

Hayley DeHart, research technician

Lindsey Potts, research technician

Jennifer Questel, postdoctoral research associate

Brandon Russell, former postdoctoral research associate

Peter L Ruffino, research technician

Sydney Twarz, research technician

Holly Westbrook, research technician

Hannes Baumann (1) (2) (3), assistant professor

Ann Bucklin, professor

Hans Dam, professor

James Edson, professor emeritus

Melanie Fewings, assistant professor

Julie Granger, associate professor

Edward Monahan, professor emeritus

Samantha Siedlecki, assistant professor

Penny Vlahos, associate professor

Michael Whitney, associate professor

Mercury is a chemical element that is present at dangerously high levels in some of the fish we eat, especially in historically contaminated coastal ecosystems such as the Hudson River. Drs. Robert Mason and Zofia Baumann from UConn’s Avery Point campus are working with the Hudson River Foundation to study the effects of human and climate disturbance on mercury levels in marine organisms that inhabit the Hackensack River system, a sub-estuary of the Hudson River.

Click here to read the complete article:

https://innovation.uconn.edu/news/278

Sampling at Berrys Creek

Photo credit: Emily Seelen (left), Brian DiMento (right)

Dr. Hannes Baumann is Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Here, he leads the Evolutionary Fish Ecology lab that investigates how fish populations adapt to natural variability in their environment, and how they respond to unfolding changes in acidity, oxygen levels and temperature in our oceans and coastal waters. The research involves experimental, field, and modelling approaches to study these effects with the ultimate goal of understanding the vulnerability and potential for adaptation of coastal fish to the combined consequences of marine climate change.

Click here to read the complete article:

http://researchfeatures.com/2018/02/27/multistressor-world-marine-climate-change-effects-ocean-life/

Faculty and graduate students volunteer for the 21st annual Quahog Bowl.  Faculty and students from the Department of Marine Sciences served as science judges, science graders, and score keepers for the annual Quahog Bowl held on UConn’s Avery Point campus.  Fifteen high-school teams competed in the event which is a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. The competition was won by Ledyard High School of Connecticut, but all teams had a fun and educational day. https://seagrant.uconn.edu/2018/01/18/15-teams-from-ct-ri-to-compete-in-21st-annual-quahog-bowl/

Photo credit: Judy Benson

From left to right: Matt Sasaki (graduate student), Michael Finiguerra (Assist. Professor), Evan Ward (Professor and Head), Brittany Sprecher (graduate student), and Michelle Fogarty (graduate student).

The University of Connecticut’s 90 ft oceanographic research vessel R/V Connecticut has new life, with increased capability, thanks to a midlife refit.

The research vessel supports UConn’s Department of Marine Sciences, which is located on the university’s coastal campus at Avery Point, on the shores of Long Island Sound. Within the Department, faculty, staff, and students carry out cutting-edge research using observations and numerical models to conduct cross-disciplinary investigations in biological, chemical, physical and geological oceanography and marine meteorology.

Originally built at a length of 76 feet in 1998, the R/V Connecticut was in need of additional staterooms and lab space to meet the Department of Marine Sciences’ needs.

See http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=28194:uconn-research-vessel-gets-new-life-with-refit&Itemid=231

Ann Bucklin (Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut)
Dan Distel (Ocean Genome Legacy, Northeastern University)

Expedition ANTARCTIC BLANC (www.AntarcticBlanc.com) sets sail on 12th February 2018 on a 66-foot yacht in Puerto Williams (Chile). The destination is the the Western Antarctic Peninsula region, one of the fastest-warming places on Earth.

Zooplankton samples will be collected for genetic analysis by metabarcoding (DNA sequencing of unsorted samples for a “DNA barcode” gene region). DNA from each sample will be archived at the Ocean Genome Legacy Center (https://www.northeastern.edu/ogl/).

Metabarcoding allows rapid assessment of the zooplankton assemblage and pelagic food web, and better understanding of ecosystem responses to climate change.

See http://antarcticblanc.com/environmental-research/an-ecosystems-response-to-climate-change-metabarcoding-of-zooplankton

This past November, a group of graduate students from the Department of Marine Sciences attended the 24th Biennial Conference of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) in Providence, RI. Many prepared either poster or oral presentations for sharing throughout the week, ranging from topics of citizen science to salt marshes. Professors also attended, presented, and convened sessions including: Jaime Vaudrey as the Chair of the Scientific Program Committee, James O’Donnell, Michael Whitney, Hannes Baumann. The full scientific program of the conference can be found here.

Group of graduate students who attended CERF 2017. (Pictured left to right: Molly James, Michelle Fogarty, Julie Pringle, Maryam Mirhakak, Amin Ilia, Jacob Snyder, James deMayo, Vena Haynes, Steven Deignan-Schmidt, and Yan Jia. Not pictured: Gunnar Hansen.)

In February, more students and professors will attend the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, OR.

Complete applications (including letters of recommendation, etc.) are due Friday, March 16^th, 2018.

http://www.mysticaquarium.org/REU/

Dr. Kelly Lombardo is the recipient of a 2017 NSF CAREER award for her proposal “CAREER: The Response of Coastal Squall Line Dynamics to Climate Change”.