Advising
Student Research
Graduate Students
WWU offers graduate training in marine science through the Marine and Estuarine Science Program (MESP). MESP students can matriculate in either Environmental Sciences or Biology; I have served as thesis advisor for students in both departments.
Recent M.S. Thesis Projects:
O'Hara, M. 2023. Distribution and Mixotrophy of Cryptophyte
Phytoplankton in the Northern Gulf of Alaska.
Busse, H. 2021. Mixotrophy by phytoflagellates in the northern Gulf of Alaska:
Impacts of physico-chemical characteristics and prey concentration on
feeding by photosynthetic nano- and dinoflagellates.
Mazur, C. 2020. Comparing the bioavailability of a natural and synthetic iron source: Do past experiments accurately model phytoplankton response to episodic iron addition?
Cooney, E. C. 2016. The effect of high-intensity visible light on the bloom niches of the phototrophic dinoflagellates Alexandrium fundyense and Heterocapsa rotundata.
Spillane, T. 2015. Diatom Frustules as a mechanical defense against predation by heterotrophic dinoflagellates.
Brown, K. 2013. Synechococcus distribution and abundance in the San Juan Archipelago, Salish Sea.
Wuori, T. 2012. Effects of elevated CO2 on the physiology of and microzooplankton feeding on the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi.
Kolb, A. 2012. Predator interactions with the two life-cycle phases of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi: can the haplo-diploid life-cycle act as a predator defense?
Paul, B. M. 2010. Polyunsaturated aldehyde production by a temporally varying field assemblage of diatoms in the San Juan Island archipelago: Can diatom metabolites affect microzooplankton grazing?
Selz, V. 2010. Nitrogen source impacts on Synechococcus nutrient acquisition and grazing susceptibility.
Graham, S. L. 2008. Growth and grazing response of microzooplankton to the harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo in prey mixtures.
Zimmer, H. A. 2008. Effects of added cadmium in seawater on the growth and photosynthesis of microalgae and their interactions with microzooplankton grazers.
Jensen, B. M. 2007. Spatio-temporal variability of microalgal productivity within a shallow fjord of the San Juan Archipelago, Washington.
Wohlford, T. D. 2006. Effects of nutrient limitation on phytoplankton and impacts on microzooplankton grazing.
Fredrickson, K. A. 2004. The role of dimethylsulfonioprionate (DMSP) as a microzooplankton grazing deterrent in northern Puget Sound and the coastal Gulf of Alaska.
Erenstone, D. A. 2003. Effects of Heterosigma akashiwo blooms on microzooplankton growth, grazing and community composition.
Clough, J. S. 2002. Effects of Heterosigma akashiwo on growth of protist grazers.
Olson, M. B. 2001. Microplankton ecology in the southeast Bering Sea: insight into the formation and temporal persistence of an Emiliania huxleyi bloom.
Zirbel, M. J. 2001. Evidence for light-enhanced grazing and growth in two species of marine microzooplankton.
Undergraduate Students
Shannon Point Marine Center offers undergraduate research opportunities through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. I typically advise one of these projects each year.
Recent Undergraduate Research Projects:
Walker-Phelan, D. 2019. Plankton growth and grazing in the Gulf of Alaska.
Crippen-Chavez, L. 2014. Growth rate and morphology changes for Synechococcus strain CC9311 and WH8102 when grown in bloom versus non-bloom ocean water.
Jackson, R. 2013. Possible induction of a defense mechanism in Synechococcus by dissolved compounds from the grazer Ochromonas.
Fernandez, E. 2012. Morphological changes of Synechococcus in culture as a result of protist grazer pressure.
Schanke, N. 2011. Effects of chemical and physical environmental conditions on Synechococcus abundance among the San Juan Islands.
Rhoades, R.E. 2011. Aggregating Behavior of Synechococcus as a Defense Mechanism.
Mann, C. 2010. Mixotrophic dinoflagellate grazing on Synechococcus and abundance/distribution of Synechococcus in the Salish Sea -� laboratory and field experiments.
Brown, A. 2010. Is hydrogen peroxide the agent of toxicity for Heterosigma akashiwo?
Gradoville, M. R. 2009. Experiments using Synechococcus strains WH8102 and CC9311 show no evidence for preferential grazing in natural communities or mixed cultures.
Franco, M. 2009. Toxicity of hydrogen peroxide to four species of phytoplankton.
Estacio, T. 2008. Temperature and light intensity effects on silica content of two marine diatoms species, and implications for the dinoflagellate grazer Gyrodinium spirale.
Mevers, E. 2008. Detecting H2O2 produced by Heterosigma akashiwo and its possible effects on other microbial organisms.
Crim, R. 2007. Phenotypic variability among strains of Heterosigma akashiwo (Raphidophyceae) from the Salish Sea, Washington, USA.
Rolls, H. 2006. Effects of different N sources on growth of Heterosigma akashiwo and toxicity to a ciliate grazer.
Rames, A. 2006. Allelopathic effects of diatom extracts on growth of phytoflagellates.
Gonzalez, C. A. 2005. Photosynthesis rates and their relation to DMSP lyase activity in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi.
Cajigas-Romin, J. J. 2005. Do the aldehyde compounds of Thalassiosira rotula 1647 affect the growth of Strombidinopsis acuminatum?
Weidemann, C. 2005. Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates in East Sound, Washington.
Swanko, J. J. 2003. Relationship between in vivo and in vitro chlorophyll fluorescence in the Coastal Gulf of Alaska.