Funding and Projects

NSF Award OCE-0324694 Collaborative Research+RUI: The Effects of Water Movement and Zooplankton Escape Behavior on Planktivory by Coral Reef Fishes in Different Microhabitats. We have been funded, along with Ed Buskey (University of Texas, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX) and Ray Clarke (Sarah Lawrence College) to examine the effects of elevated turbulence on the feeding of coral reef fishes. The particular focus is on how water movement differs in the microhabitats occupied by two species of blenny (family Chaenopsidae) and the extent to which it affects microhabitat choice by those species. The problem will be approached from two perspectives: (1) the role of water movement in delivering prey to the fish and (2) the role of water movement in determining prey vulnerability to attacks by fish. Water movement will be measured at different scales on reefs where the fish live and, in the laboratory, prey capture will be studied under the patterns and rates of water movement observed in the field. Field work will be conducted at Glover's Reef, Belize; lab experiments at UTMSI.
NSF CAREER Award (OCE-0094169) Nutrient processes in bioturbated sediments. I was recently granted an NSF CAREER award to study nutrient dynamics in sedimentary environments impacted by burrowing infauna and to develop student-active education for K-12 students. Many animals burrow through the mud and sand that covers the sea floor, and this burrowing activity greatly impacts chemical processes deep within the sediment. Importantly, burrow water often contains elevated nutrient concentrations (nitrogen, phosphorous, silicate) that are released to the water column by ventilation of the burrow. My students and I will be investigating the activity patterns and burrow structure of burrowing shrimp common to the Northern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the production and fate of nutrient plumes once released to the water column. Finally, we will examine effects of nutrient plumes on the surrounding benthic community.
Bayouside Classroom. LUMCON serves nearly 4000 K-12 visitors annually. My colleagues and I are developing field activities for these students that not only demonstrate scientific principles, but also allow students to participate in data collection and analysis. During the field experience students will collect water samples along a marsh gradient, and analyze the basic chemical components. Data will be entered into a web accessible database to encourage participation in the program throughout the school year. We will also be conducting annual teacher workshops to further refine and develop the field program according to the needs of participating science teachers.
Mass transfer around coral reefs. Nutrient dynamics around coral reefs are paramount to the ecological function and overall health of the reef environment. Because the exchange of nutrients on reefs is controlled by circulation of the surrounding water, it is critical to understand how large scale water movement translates into small scale turbulence and material exchange at coral surfaces. Along with colleagues from the University of South Carolina, I am studying the processes that control nutrient uptake by corals using the Aquarius Undersea Habitat . We have participated in two missions aboard Aquarius, living underwater for 10 days at a time and spending 6 to 8 hours per day working on the reef. The approach of this study is to use high resolution velocity sensors deployed at a variety of spatial scales to measure boundary layers above the bottom.
Geochemical microprofiling in estuarine sediments. A variety of chemical, biological, and geological processes are governed by the flux of material through the sediment water interface. In turn, these fluxes are partially controlled by flow in the overlying water column. My colleagues and I are developing a system for measuring fine-scale (< 1mm resolution) profiles of chemical concentration (oxygen, manganese, sulfide), salinity, and sediment characteristics simultaneously with flow conditions in the overlying watercolumn. Although this is a new collaborative effort we have conducted successful preliminary flume experiments. We are now seeking to develop an autonomous system for deployment on the Louisiana coast. My collaborators are Rodney Powell, LUMCON and Mead Allison, Tulane University.
John Matkowski, Dr. Chris Finelli, and Dr. Rodney Powell...	Probe cluster