From the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and GHORC…

October 2023 Research Highlights reported by the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (GHORC).


 

From the Department of Chemistry and Physics:

 

Dr. Dimitrios Giarikos, Professor and Director of Lab Operations

Project Title: Heavy Metal Implications to Sediment Microbiome and Coral Reef Community

Project Dates: December 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023

Preliminary results indicate moderate to high ecological risk to benthic organisms from heavy metal contaminated port sediment. The control site has a distinct microbial community suggesting that human activities have altered the port microbiomes. Due to an imminent dredging at Port Everglades, contaminated sediment could harm the threatened adjacent coral communities.

Report produced for FDEP:

Giarikos, D. G., Hirons, A. C., Lopez, J. H., Daniels, A. 2023. Heavy Metal Implications to Sediment Microbiome and Coral Reef Community. Phase I. Florida DEP. Dania Beach, FL pp 1-106

 

 

Dr. Diego Castano, Professor

Publication: Self-inductance and magnetic flux, Diego J. Castano & Teresa M. Castano, American Journal of Physics Vol. 91, Issue 8, August 2023

 

 

Dr. Carmit Alexenberg, Instructor

Dr. Alexenberg’s research about “The Universal Mass Function and its Applicability to Organic Molecules” was presented in several international conferences during the last year, such as the “American Chemical Society Annual Conference”, “The International Forum on Research Excellence – Sigma Xi”, “National Conference of Undergraduate Research”, “The Student Research Showcase – Sigma Xi”, and “Florida Conference of Undergraduate Research”.

Publication: https://acs.digitellinc.com/sessions/565621/view

 


 

From the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts:

 

Dr. Alex Bordino, Assistant Professor

Dr. Bordino published an essay titled “Contemplating imperialism: early film reenactments of the South African War” earlier this year in the journal Early Popular Visual Culture, which appeared in print in August. The essay examines film reenactments of the South African War produced by American and British motion picture production companies in the early twentieth century.

Additionally, his short experimental film, im/material, screened at the University Film and Video Association annual conference in Savannah, GA in July. The film will premiere in Florida at the Subculture Film Festival in West Palm Beach 10/20-10/22.

 

 

Dr. Claire Lutkewitte, Professor

Dr. Lutkewitte earned the 2023 Modern Language Association’s Humanities Innovation Grant for her project, “Writing in the Wilderness: Using Writing to Tackle Environmental Problems.” This grant award helps faculty develop courses and educational programs that “have the potential to offer transformative experiences for learners” and “that foster lasting connections between individuals and their communities.” With the funding provided, Dr. Lutkewitte is studying how humanities fields, such as the field of writing, are well-positioned to educate people about the consequences of visiting and documenting wilderness locations. Humanities fields teach the rhetorical and critical thinking skills necessary for successful problem analysis and solution generation and can have a positive impact on their local environments as a result.

 


 

From the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences:

 

Dr. Bernhard Riegl, Department Chair and Professor

September Issue of Folia Geobotanica:

Steiner, S.C.C., Riegl, B. & Lozano, P. Habitat and population structure of rare and endemic Andean Espeletia pycnophylla subsp. llanganatensis (Asteraceae) in an Ecuadorian biodiversity hotspot. Folia Geobot (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-023-09431-8

June Issue of Ecologial Applications:

Riegl, Bernhard, Walentowitz, Anna, Sevilla, Christian, Chango, Rafael, and Jäger, Heinke. 2023. “ Invasive Blackberry Outcompetes the Endemic Galapagos Tree Daisy Scalesia pedunculata.” Ecological Applications 33(4): e2846. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2846

April Issue of Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America:

Jäger, H., Sevilla, C., and Riegl, B.. 2023. Endemic Galapagos Tree Daisy Scalesia pedunculata Threatened by Competition with Nonnative Blackberry Rubus niveus. Bull Ecol Soc Am 104(3):e02074. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.2074

Data paper at Zenodo:

Riegl, B., A. Walentowitz, C. Sevilla, R. Chango, and H. Jaeger. 2023. “Data and Code from: Invasive Blackberry Outcompetes Endemic Galapagos Tree Daisy Scalesia pedunculata.” Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7731168.

 

 

Dr. Tamara Frank, Professor

Dr. Frank received the second year of funding for the NSF grant “Collaborative Research: Visual adaptations in hydrothermal vent shrimp and the role in feeding modalities and habitat selection” $132,683

Publications:

Microplastic ingestion by deep-pelagic crustaceans and fishes (2023).  Ryan Box, Shiye Zhao, Tracey Sutton, Tamara Frank (Ryan was my graduate student).  Limnology and Oceanography  68: 1595 – 1620

Putative photosensitivity in internal light organs (organs of Pesta) of deep-sea sergestid shrimps (2023).  Tamara Frank, Samie Sickles, Danielle De Leo,k Patricia Blackwelder, Heather Bracken-Grissom.  Scientific Reports (2023) 13:16113  (Jamie was my graduate student).

 

 

Dr. Rosanna (Zan) Milligan (Boyle), Assistant Professor

Student Paper:

McMaken, C.*, Burkholder, D., Milligan, R., Lopez, J. (2023). Potential impacts of environmental bacteria on the microbiome of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle eggs and their hatching success. MicrobiologyOpen. 12(3): e1363. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.1363 (open access)

Regular / review papers:

Murawksi, S.A., Schwing, P.T., Patterson III, W.F., Sutton, T.T., Montagna, P.A., Milligan, R.J., Joye, S., Thomas, L., Kilborn, J., Paris, C.B., Failletaz, R., Portnoy, D.S., Gilbert, S. (2023). Vulnerability and resilience of living marine resources to the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill: an overview. Front Mar Sci. 10:1202250. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1202250 (open access)

Bridges, A., Howell, K.L., McQuaid, K.A., Butt, S., Sink, K., Atkinson, L., Brandt, A., Braga-Henriques, A., Stevenson, A., Saeedi, H., Bax, N., Carranza, A., Gaudron, S.M., Perez, J.A., Amaro, T., Viera, R., Guilhon, M., Pearman, T., Horton, T., Weinberg, C., Milligan, R.J., Doti, B.L., Lauretta, D., Orejas, C., Bravo, M.E., Narayanaswamy, B.E., Barnes, D.K.A., Bell, J.B., Ross, R.E., Brix, S., Kaiser, S., Esquete, P., Shimanbukuro, M., Freiwald, A., Beuck, L., Hebbeln, D., Titschack, J., Vinha, B., Huvenne, V., Gori, A., Limongi, P., Bernardino, A.F., Elegbede, I.O., Taylor, M., Paulus, S., Kainge, P. (in press). Review of the Central and South Atlantic Deep Sea: Science, Policy and Management. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. 4. doi: 10.1201/9781032426969-4.

 

 

Dr. Timothy Swain, Assistant Professor

Publications & Presentations:

Davies et al. 2023 Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity. PeerJ: 10.7717/peerj.15023.

Swain TD. 2023. Molecular parataxonomy cannot solve the taxonomic impediment. 51st Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. Miami, Florida (chairman of section).

Estrada B*, Magyar M*, Patel SS*, Williams SD, Swain TD. 2023. Peculiar Symbiosis, Thermal Resilience, and Robustness of The Caribbean Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network. 51st Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. Miami, Florida.

Salonia E*, Renken S*, Markovich A*, Swain TD. 2023. Applying Integrative Systematics to the Poorly Explored Symbiotic Relationships of Zoanthidea in the Deep Sea. 51st Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. Miami, Florida.

Rex M*, Swain TD. 2023. The Cnidome in Integrative Systematics of Zoanthidea: A Sticking Point. 51st Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. Miami, Florida.

Magyar M*, Swain TD. 2023. Revisiting Generic Assignments in Zoanthidea (Cnidaria:Anthozoa:Hexacorallia) Using Key Characters of the Existing Taxonomic System. 51st Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. Miami, Florida.

 

 

Dr. Tracey Sutton, Professor

Publications:

Mostarda, E., A.S. Harold, T.T. Sutton, and P.A. Hulley (2023) Identification Guide to the Mesopelagic Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Rome, FAO. 334 pp. ISSN 1020-6868.

Caves, E.M., T.T. Sutton, E.J. Warrant and S. Johnsen (2023) Measures and models of visual acuity in epipelagic and mesopelagic teleosts and elasmobranchs. Journal of Comparative Physiology A https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-023-01661-7

Campanyà-Llovet, N. A.E. Bates, D. Cuvelier, T.T. Sutton and others (2023) FUN Azores: A FUNctional trait database for the meio-, macro-, and megafuana from the Azores Marine Park (Mid-Atlantic Ridge). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Sec. Biogeography and Macroecology. Vol. 11; doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1050268

**Murawski, S.A., P. Schwing, W. Patterson, T.T. Sutton, P.A. Montagna, R.J. Milligan, S. Joye, L. Thomas, J.P. Kilborn, C.B. Paris-Limouzy, R. Faillettaz, D.S. Portnoy, and S. Gilbert (2023). Vulnerability and resilience of living marine resources to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: An overview. Frontiers in Marine Science 10:1202250. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1202250

**Bos, R., S. Zhao, T.T. Sutton, and T.M. Frank (2023) Microplastic ingestion by deep-pelagic crustaceans and fishes. Limnology and Oceanography 68(7): 1595-1610. doi: 10:1002/lno.12370.

**McGonagle, R., D. Kerstetter, D. Fenolio, and T.T. Sutton (2023). Ecomorphology of a predatory deep-sea fish family: does trophic specialization drive hyperspeciation? Frontiers in Marine Science. 10:1056094. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1056094

**Richards, T.M., T.T. Sutton, M.S. Woodstock, H. Judkins, and D.R.J. Wells (2023). Body size, depth of occurrence, and local oceanography shape trophic structure in a diverse deep-pelagic micronekton assemblage. Progress in Oceanography 213:102998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2023.102998.

 

 

Dr. David Kerstetter, Associate Professor

Publications:

Garvey, D.*, C.A. Blanar, E. Warburton, R.L. Grunberg, E.L. Mckean, and D.W. Kerstetter.  2023.  Host ecology and biogeography drive endoparasite community composition in Atlantic killifishes.  Oecologia.  doi: 10.1007/s00442-023-05420-y

Kerstetter, D.W., G.A. Hardy**, and L. John**.  2023.  Patterns of scavenging of bird carcasses in a coastal subtropical environment.  Florida Field Naturalist.

Weidner, T.A.*, J.J. Schieber*, C.F. Cotton, Caroline Collatos, and D.W. Kerstetter.  2023.  Short-term habitat utilization and vertical movements of the pelagic stingray Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832) in the western North Atlantic Ocean using pop-up archival satellite tags.  Bulletin of Marine Science 99(3): 169-183.  doi: 10.5343/bms.2023.0026

McGonagle, R.P., D.W. Kerstetter, D. Fenolio, and T.T. Sutton.  2023.  Ecomorphology of a predatory deep-sea fish family: does trophic specialization drive hyperspeciation?  Frontiers in Marine Science.  doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1056094

Schieber, J.A.*, D. Fahy, J. Carlson, and D.W. Kerstetter.  2023.  Age and growth of the yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis), a biannually reproductive tropical batoid.  Journal of Fish Biology. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15374

 

 

Dr. Amy Hirons, Professor

Publications:

Giarikos DG, White L, Daniels A, Santos R, Baldauf P, Hirons AC (2023) Assessing the ecological risk of heavy metal sediment contamination from Port Everglades Florida. Peer J.

Boehning GD, B Brunnick, S Harzen,  AC Hirons (2023) Abundance, site fidelity, and association patterns of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) off Southeast Florida, USA, Aquatic Mammals.

Funding: over $1 million in external funding in 2023 (2 FDEP, 1 USFWS/ADFG