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February 29, 2008

 With sadness we report the passing of Franklin E. Parker III, former Rutgers Trustee and first chairman of the IMCS Board. Frank led the IMCS Board from 1992 - 2003 and played a major role in establishing IMCS. He has always been one of IMCS' strongest advocates and most generous fans. He was known throughout New Jersey as being instrumental in giving birth to the state's conservation movement. He successfully led the battle to save the Great Swamp, which is now a National Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps Frank was best known as the chief architect of the Pinelands protection effort. As the first chairman of the Pinelands Commission, he was instrumental in devising and implementing one of the most successful land use and natural resource protection programs in the country.
April 22, 1925 - Feb. 1, 2008
  

Highlights

  • Paul Falkowski has been elected to Fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology. Paul is among the thirty-eight microbiologists, from eight different countries, to receive this honor in 2008. Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-reviewed process, based on the individuals records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Congratulations Paul! (See press release)
  • H.R. 1834, the National Ocean Exploration Act, a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton may provide much needed funding for NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program and National Undersea Research Program if it becomes law. Mike DeLuca was interviewed by Robert Spahr of the Press of Atlantic City and Rachel Gillett of The Daily Targum.
  • Ximing Guo gave an invited seminar titled "Genetics and genomics towards to a better oyster," at Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, February 1, 2008.
  • Younger Kim, as an invited lecturer, attended the 2nd International Postgraduate Course, Histology and Histopathology of Aquatic Animals, European Master of Science in Marine Environment and Resources, Joint European Postgraduate Studies, held at the University of the Basque Country, Leioa-Bizkaia, SPAIN, 11 - 15 February 2008. He gave two lectures, and participated in a Practical Session (Microscopical observations on general molluscan histopathology and identification of neoplastic lesions) and in a Round Table Discussion (Mollusc and fish histopathology in ecosystem health assessment).
  • A recent paper by Jennifer Francis and Eli Hunter titled "Changes in the fabric of the Arctic's greenhouse blanket" in Environmental Research Letters was selected as the Best Paper of 2007 by the editors of that journal.
  • Judith Weis spent all of January in western Madagascar studying fish utilization of mangrove habitats.
  • George McGhee has been invited to the University of Valencia, Spain, for an expenses-paid workshop on "evo-devo" (evolutionary development), in honor of the late Pere Alberch, one of the pioneers of the discipline of evolutionary development, 21-24 May 2008. Like the Leiden invitation, this invitation is in response to the publication of McGhee's latest book The Geometry of Evolution.
  • Bonnie McCay (Dept. of Human Ecology) is a member of the Science Advisory Committees of two recent initiatives in ecosystem-based management of the oceans: The California Current Ecosystem-Based Management Initiative
    (http://ims.ucsc.edu:16080/ccebm/) and the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Council.
  • Alan Robock gave the following invited talks:
    • 1/28/08, talk on "Global Warming" to Save the Environment of Moorestown, Moorestown, New Jersey
    • 1/31/08, talk on "Global Warming" to Rotary Club of Spring Lake and Brielle, Spring Lake, New Jersey
    • 2/1/08 talk on "Global Warming" to Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN) Conference, United Nations Headquarters, New York City
    • 2/7/08 talk on "Volcanic eruptions and climate" at American Museum of Natural History, New York City
    • 2/10-14/08 Solar dimming and soil moisture trends (Global Dimming and Brightening Workshop, Ein Gedi, Israel)

Take Our Kids to Work Day ... Thursday, April 24th, 2008 is "Take Our Kids to Work Day." Following on the great success and fun we had the last two years hosting our kids for this nationwide annual event: We are doing a repeat performance! To make it another great success - WE NEED HELP! Please let us know if you have ideas for the day, and if you and others in your group can help plan and run activities. Please let us know who will be coming to work with you on April 24th. We need to know name, age and grade (Kindergarten and up) and T-shirt size. Thanks.

Contacts: Liz (sikes@marine.rutgers.edu, 2-6555 x518), Sage (sage@marine.rutgers.edu, 2-6555 x533) or Liti (liti@marine.rutgers.edu, 2-6555 x334)

Meetings Attended

  • Jennifer Francis and Eli Hunter gave a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Meteorology Society titled "Observed and Modeled Drivers of Arctic Change" in New Orleans, January 2008.
  • Guo*, X., Y. Wang, G. DeBrosse, R. Karney, P. Bagnall, J. Blake, S.E. Ford and D. Bushek. Superior performance of triploid eastern oyster in the Northeastern region. Presented at the 28th Milford Aquaculture Seminar, February 25 - 27, 2008, CT, USA.
  • The Census of Marine Life (CoML) Scientific Steering Committee, chaired by Fred Grassle, met in Punta Arenas, Chile on February 17-18, 2008. The meeting focused on "Census legacies, partnerships and strategies for the 2010 synthesis." To read more, click here.

The Regional Nodes of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System met at IMCS on the last two days of February. Information technology experts from 14 countries made plans for participating in the synthesis phase of the Census of Marine Life in 2010 and development of new sources of support beyond 2010. Edward Vanden Berghe, Executive Director of OBIS, served as host; and Fred Grassle, Director of the OBIS Secretariat was also in attendance.

(Top row, l to r) Fred Grassle, Ward Appeltans, Sung-Dae Kim, Bruno Davis, (2nd row, l to r) Michel Claereboudt, Baban Ingole, (3rd row, l to r) Edward Vanden Berghe, Atila Esteban Gosztonyi, Fabio Lang da Silveira, (bottom row, l to r) Deng Palomares, Xiaoxian Sun, Tana Worcester, (not pictured) Tony Rees, William Stafford, and Jiong Ma

New Grants

  • Bidle, K. (PI), P. Falkowski, O. Schofield, and M. Gorbunov (Co-PIs). Academic Excellence Fund, Rutgers University, “Acquisition of a Flow Cytometer/ High-Speed Cell Sorter and Establishment of a Particle Analysis Facility.” March 1, 2008, ($110,000)
  • DeLuca, M. National Park Service, New York/New Jersey Bight Oceans Initiative. 08/01/07-07/31/08 ($24,999)
  • Dunk, R. Walters Group, "Stafford Park Wind Resource Assessment." 02/15/08-04/14/09, ($12,348)
  • Kennish, M. Ocean County College-Barnegat Bay, "Developing a Nutrient Pollution Indicator for the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor." 01/01/08-09/30/09, ($14,295)
  • Robock, A. (PI), and G. Stenchikov, M. Bunzl (Co-PIs), NSF Climate Dynamics, ATM-0730452, "Collaborative Research in Evaluation of Suggestions to Geoengineer the Climate System Using Stratospheric Aerosols and Sun hading," February 1, 2008 ­ January 31, 2011, $549,429.
  • Schofield, O. Office of Naval Research, "Novel Acoustic Techniques to Measure Schooling in Pelagic Fish." ($5,000 addnl funding)
  • Seitzinger, S. Univ. of New Hampshire, "Modeling Framework to Detect Changes in Land to Coastal Fluxes." ($57,104 addnl funding)
  • Wilkin, J. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, "Physical Forcing & Seasonal Variations in Phytoplankton in the Coastal Ocean." ($26,359 addnl funding)

Publications

  • Altieri, K. E., S.P. Seitzinger, A.G. Carlton, B.J. Turpin, G.C. Klein, A.G. Marshall. 2008. Oligomers formed through in-cloud methylglyoxal reactions: Chemical composition, properties, and mechanisms investigated by ultra-high resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometry. Atmospheric Environment 42; 1476-1490.
  • Bidle, K.D. and S.J. Bender*. Iron starvation and culture age activate metacaspases and programmed cell death in the marine diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana. Eukaryotic Cell 7(2): 223-236
  • Bushek, D., B. Landau, E. Scarpa. 2008. Perkinsus chesapeaki in stout razor clams Tagelus plebeius from Delaware Bay. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 78: 243-247.
  • Castelao, R., S. Glenn, O. Schofield, R. Chant, J. Wilkin, and J. Kohut (2008), Seasonal evolution of hydrographic fields in the central Middle Atlantic Bight from glider observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L03617, doi:10.1029/2007GL032335.
  • Dighton, J., T. Tugay, N. Zhdanova. 2008. Fungil and ionizing radiation from radionuclides. FEMS Microbiology Letters. DOI:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2008.01076.x
  • Kahl, A., A. Vardi, O. Schofield. 2008. Effect of phytoplankton physiology on export flux. Marine Ecology Progress Series 354: 3-19.
  • Kennish, M.J., R.J. Livingston, D. Raffaelli, and K. Reise. 2008. Environmental future of estuaries. In: Polunin, N., (ed.), Aquatic Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 188-206.
  • Kim, Y., E.N. Powell, T.L. Wade and B.J. Presley. 2008. Relationship of parasites and pathologies to contaminant body burden in sentinel bivalves: NOAA Status and Trends 'Mussel Watch' Program. Marine Environmental Research 65:101–127.
  • Ramey P.A. and E. Bodnar (2008). Selection by a deposit-feeding polychaete, Polygordius jouinae, for sands with relatively high organic content. Limnology and Oceanography. In press
  • Ramey P.A. (2008) Life history and population dynamics of a dominant polychaete, Polygordius jouinae, in inner continental shelf sands of the Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA. Marine Biology. In press.
  • Samson, J.C., S. Shumway and J.S. Weis. 2008 Effects of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense on three species of larval fish: a food web approach. J. Fish Biol. 72: 168-188.
  • Schofield, O., J. Kohut, S.M. Glenn. 2008. Evolution of coastal observing networks. Sea Technology. 49: 31-36.
  • Shi, T., P.G. Falkowski. 2008. Genome evolution in cyanobacteria: the stable core and the variable shell. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 105(7): 2510-2515, www.pnas.org/cgl/doi/10.1073/pnas.0711165105
  • Wade, B.S., N. Al-Sabouni, C. Hemleben, and D. Kroon. 2008. Symbiont bleaching in fossil planktonic foraminifera. Evolutionary Ecology, 22: 253-265.

Student News

  • Congratulations to Katye Altieri for receiving the 2007 AGU Fall Meeting Outstanding Student Paper Award! Katye's paper, "Chemical characterization of secondary organic aerosol formed through cloud processing of methylglyoxal," was presented at the fall meeting in San Francisco and was recognized as among the best of a strong group of student presenters. Watch for the announcement of award winners in an upcoming issue of Eos.
  • Kay Bidle and Sara Bender have a publication in Eukaryotic Cell 7(2): 223-236 (see Publications). Sara, the 2005 Outstanding Senior in Marine and Coastal Sciences, is now a graduate student at the School of Oceanography, University of Washington.

Let's Welcome

  • Jordi Solé and Tomeu Garau from IMEDEA (Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies) at the University of the Balearic Islands in Mallorca, Spain, are visiting the Coastal Ocean Modeling and Prediction group. Both are located in the OM Lab (Room 210) until May. Jordi Solé is continuing a collaboration that commenced last summer with IMCS and the University of North Carolina on biophysical modeling of the western Mediterranean for studies of interannual variability in the regional marine ecosystem. Tomeu Garau is a graduate student working on optimal path planning for coastal glider deployments in the Alboran Sea and Balearic Islands, and glider data assimilation in ROMS.

Congratulations

 On February 7, 2008 at 1:59 PM, Lisa Auermuller, Watershed Coordinator for the JC NERR, delivered a healthy baby boy. Peyton William Auermuller weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and has blue eyes. Mother and son are doing fine. Congratulations Lisa and Rob!