News & Events

June 

• Akela Yuhl successfully defended her thesis and earned a Master of Science in Marine Sciences.
• Anna Reimer successfully defended her thesis and earned a Master of Science in Environmental Toxicology.
• Christa Russell published in Restoration Ecology: “Scared Strong: Using Predator Cues to Bolster Shellfish Restoration.”
• Dr. Matthew Hodanbosi successfully defended his dissertation and earned his Ph.D. in Marine Sciences.

March

• Dr. Clayton Bennett successfully defended his dissertation and earned his Ph.D. in Marine Sciences.

Award Winners

 

Heck Award

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Heck Award Winner:

Olivia Pickett, Undergraduate

Honorable Mention:

Marissa Hall, Undergraduate

Pictured from left:

Olivia Pickett, Marissa Hall

 

Nelson Award

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Nelson Award Winner:

Joe Hansen, Master's Student

Pictured from left:

Joe Hansen,Dr. Ruth H. Carmichael

 

Shipp Award

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Shipp Award Winner:

Christa, Russell, Ph.D. student

Pictured from left:

Christa Russell, Dr. Lee Smee

TV Appearances

• Dr. Ronnie Baker
  • Mangroves support an estimated annual abundance of over 700 billion juvenile fish and invertebrates
  • Dissolved Oxygen May Limit the Suitability of Salt Marsh as Nekton Habitat
  • Seascape connectivity: evidence, knowledge gaps and implications for temperate coastal ecosystem restoration practice and policy
• Dr. Gabriel de Oliveira
  • Forest Degradation Is Undermining Progress on Deforestation in the Amazon
  • Parameterized models for estimating atmospheric longwave radiation and surface net radiation in the Brazilian semi-arid region
  • Investigation of an Unusual Extreme Precipitation Event in the Jaru Biological Reserve, Amazon
• Dr. Steven Scyphers
  • Recreational angler and stakeholder perceptions of policy changes to recreational fishery management: the case of red snapper devolution in the Gulf of Mexico
  • Observations, perceptions and concerns of the American lobster industry regarding the range-expansion of Black Sea Bass
  • Waterfront property owners' shoreline preferences amid salt marsh to mangrove transitions
• Dr.  Abbey Hotard
  • Home buyout without relocation: An examination of dissonant hazard mitigation perceptions among Gulf Coast residents
• Dr. Lee Smee
  
  • Costs of induced defenses dissipate by maturity for diploid and triploid oysters
  • Life on the edge: Two dissimilar extreme events alter food webs through modification of top-down control
• Dr. Alison Robertson
  • First Confirmed Occurrence of Ciguatera Poisoning in the UK from Imported Pinjalo Snapper (Pinjalo pinjalo)
• Dr.  Ruth Carmichael
  • Abundance and Residency Patterns of Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Freshwater-Influenced Estuaries of the Northern Gulf of Mexico
  • Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets
• Dr. Jahson Alemu 
  • Waterfront property owners' shoreline preferences amid salt marsh to mangrove transitions
  • Perceptions and adaptive strategies of artisanal fishers to a changing environment
  • Edge effects impact blue carbon dynamics across coastal ecotones in a tropical seascape
• Dr. Mark Albins and Dr. Sean Powers 
  • Carbon production at shallow-water artificial reef ecosystems relies on water column primary productivity
  • A novel ddPCR™ assay for eDNA detection and quantification of Greater Amberjack Seriola dumerilli and three congeners in US waters: challenges and application to fisheries independent surveys

eDNA Workshop

The members of the Kiel Reese lab hosted the eDNA Source Tracking Toolkit Workshop at the University of South Alabama on April 25, 2025. This workshop guided stakeholders and community partners in implementing the eDNA Source Tracking Toolkit, which is a resource for utilizing eDNA metagenomics as a fecal source tracking tool. This toolkit and workshop are funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico Division. For more information, please visit the Toolkit website