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February 28, 2006

Highlights

  • Congratulations to Tuckerton postdoc Mark Sullivan, who has accepted a tenure-track, Assistant Professor of Marine Sciences position with a specialty in fisheries, at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Mark and Ken Able will continue to collaborate on a New Jersey Sea Grant funded project "Slipping away? What can glass eel stages tell us about the decline of the American eel in Middle Atlantic Bight estuaries."
  • Alan Robock has been elected and will serve as President-Elect of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of American Geophysical Union (AGU) July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2008. He then serves as President of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of AGU July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2010. Congratulations Alan!
  • Lisa Totten has been invited to present a seminar at the Hudson River Foundation on brominated flame retardants in the NY/NJ Harbor on May 9th.
  • Dave Bushek and collaborators presented new findings on a ciliate parasite of oysters from New Hampshire with NH Fish and Wildlife Service at the Annual Milford Aquaculture Seminar Workshop:

    AN INVESTIGATION OF CILIATE XENOMAS IN CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA
    Emily Scarpa 1*, Susan Ford 1, Bruce Smith 2, David Bushek 1
    1Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers University, Port Norris, NJ 08349
    2New Hampshire Fish & Game, Durham, New Hampshire 03824

    Since the late 1990s, unusually high prevalences of xenomas have been noted during routine histological examination of oysters from Great Bay, New Hampshire. Xenomas are formed when intracellular parasites accumulate within host cells, causing them to hypertrophy. Xenomas, due to microsporidians, are common in fish, but rare in oysters, where they are caused by ciliates of the genus Sphenophrya. As they are macroscopically visible on gills, the marketability of infected oysters has been questioned. Samples collected every fall from 1997 through 2005 were processed using normal histological procedures. In 2005, counts were also made of macroscopically visible xenomas. Prevalence varied according to site within Great Bay and also by year. In histological sections, it has increased notably since 1997, when only 1% of oysters were affected. In 2004, prevalence ranged from 33% to 82%. Densities were mostly below 20 xenomas per histological section, but reached as high as 173. Macroscopically, samples from 2005 contained a mean of 15.5 xenomas per oyster, ranging from 0 to more than 100. The xenomas are located in gill water tubes where they are often large enough to occupy the entire cross sectional area. They cause localized epithelial erosion and probably impede water flow to some degree. Nevertheless, the histological appearance of the remaining tissues was not obviously affected and there was no clear correlation between oyster size and infection. There was an inverse relationship between the prevalence of Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) infections and that of xenomas, although the reason is presently unclear.

    Our work on gamete interactions between the eastern oyster and the asian oyster that has been proposed for introduction into Chesapeake Bay has been invited for presentation at a special workshop on the introduction at the National Shellfishies Association's Annual Meeting next month and for publication in a special issue on the topic in the Journal of Shellfish Research later this month. A report from a Fall 2005 Quarterly Review that includes a summary of the work is available on line at http://noaa.chesapeakebay.net/nonnativeoysterresearch.aspx. The cover features pictures of the IMCS flume lab and a summer RIOS intern that assisted with the work.

Meetings Attended

  • John Quinlan's DMCS fisheries research group presented two papers at the Ocean Sciences Conference in Hawaii.
    • Law, C.G. and Quinlan, J.A. (OS092) Population Level Effects of Transport Variability Attributable to Larval Behavior and Environmental Variation.
      Eos Trans. AGU, 87(36), Ocean Sci. Meet. Suppl., Abstract OS44H-06.
    • Quinlan, J.A., Manderson, J.P., Shaheen, P., Law, C.G., Pessutti, J., Kohut, J., Bosch, J., and Creed, L. (OS103) Two Years of Observation: The Occurrence and Possible Ecological Role of Layered Structure in the New York Bight. Eos Trans. AGU, 87(36), Ocean Sci. Meet. Suppl., Abstract OS36H-11

John Quinlan was also a convener, along with M. McManus and P. Donaghay, of the "Oceanography and Ecology of Thin Plankton Layers" session at the meeting.

  • The COOL group included:
    • Bosch, J. A., Schofield, O., Kohut, J., Glenn, S. M. East coast plumes and blooms: Monitoring the on-ramp to the ocean highway off New Jersey. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Chant, R. J., Glenn, S. M., Hunter, E., Kohut, J., Chen, R. F., Wilkin, J. Bulge formation and cross-shelf transport of the Hudson estuarine discharge. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Dzwonkowski, B., Yan, X., Kohut, J. Analysis of Inertial and Sub-inertial Surface Currents From High Frequency Radar in the Central Mid-Atlantic Bight. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Frazer, T. K., Schofield, O., Moline, M. A., Glenn, S. M., Kohut, J., Chant, R. J., Keller, S. R., Oliver, M. J., Reinfelder, J. R., Zhou, M., Chen, R. F. LaTTE 2005: Super size me. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Fugate, D. C., Chant, R. J. Freshwater Discharge and Tidal Range Impacts on Sediment Transport in the Passaic R., NJ, USA. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Glenn, S. M., Schofield, O., Chant, R. J., Kohut, J. Educational needs in the changing field of operational oceanography. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Glenn, S. M., Schofield, O., Chant, R. J., Kohut, J. Observed response of the Hudson river plume to wind forcing in an operational research observatory. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Gong, D., Glenn, S., Chant, R., Wilkin, J., Kohut, J. NJ Turnpike -- Dynamics of the Hudson Shelf Valley. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Hales, B., Cai, W., Mitchell, B. G., Sabine, C., Schofield, O. North American continental margins: A planning workshop. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Houghton, R. W., Chant, R. J. Propagation and Mixing in the Hudson River Coastal Current. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Hunter, E. J., Chant, R. J.,Kohut, J., Bowers, L., Glenn, S. Sea Breeze Forcing on the New Jersey Shelf. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Kahl, A., Schofield, O. Using settling velocity to model particle stickiness in a mesocosm. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Kerfoot, J., Glenn, S. M., Kohut, J., Schofield, O., Roarty, H. Correction for thermal lag effects in non-pumped temperature-conductivity sensors on the Slocum coastal electric glider. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Kirkpatrick, G. J., Millie, D. F., Lohrenz, S. E., Moline, M. A., Robbins, I., Schofield, O. An in situ sensor of phytoplankton community structure based on light absorption. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Kohut, J. T., HF-Consortium MACOORA Team A Regional HF Radar Network: Surface Current Nowcasts and Forecasts for Informed Coastal Decision Making in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Kohut, J., McDonnell, J., Chant, R., Glenn, S. On the Hudson River: New and Innovative Programs Linking Scientists to Educators, Their Students, and the General Public. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • McDonnell, J. D., Kohut, J., Simms, E., Glenn, S. The Value of Coastal Ocean Observations: a Perspective from the Coastal Ocean. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Oliver, M. J., Petrov, D., Ackerley, D., Falkowski, P., Schofield, O. The rapid evolution of diatom and dinoflagellate genomes. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Roarty, H., Yan, A., Kohut, J., Glenn, S. M. The Use of HF Radar to Measure Wave Parameters. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Schofield, O., Kerfoot, J., Kohut, J., Roarty, H., Jones, C., Glenn, S. M. Studying particle dynamics on continental shelves using Slocum Webb gliders. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
    • Ullman, D. S., O’Donnell, J., Kohut, J., Fake, T., Allen, A. Trajectory Prediction Using HF Radar Surface Currents: Monte Carlo Simulations of Prediction Uncertainties. AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
  • Jim Ammerman's students and collaborators presented the following talks and posters at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Hawaii. Jim co-convened and co-chaired a special phosphorus session and co-chaired a sensor session with Oscar Schofield.
    • J. W. Ammerman. Education and Public Outreach for Scientists: Why Bother? Contributed talk presented at the AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting, February, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
    • B. M. Gaas, J. W. Ammerman. High Resolution Ectoenzyme Measurements in Hypereutrophic, Eutrophic, and Oligotrophic Systems: Covariation of Biogeochemical Processes Identified by a Novel System. Contributed talk presented at the AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting, February, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
    • S. A. Jaeger, G. P. Klinkhammer, J. W. Ammerman, B. M. Gaas. Development of the Multiple Enzyme Analyzer (MEA): Detection of In-situ Rates of Microbial Ectoenzyme Activity. Contributed poster presented at the AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting, February, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
    • J. B. Sylvan, Q. Dortch, D. M. Nelson, J. W. Ammerman. Seasonal Phosphorus Limitation on the Louisiana Shelf During Periods of High Biomass and Productivity: A Result of Nitrogen Loading from the Mississippi River? Contributed talk presented at the AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting, February, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • Just prior to the Ocean Sciences Meeting, on Feb. 16 and 17, Jim Ammerman and his lab attended a 65th Birthday Symposium for Dr. Farooq Azam at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Jim was the convener and lead organizer of this Symposium.
  • Bowers, L. A., Glenn, S. M., Chant, R. J., Dunk, R. Coastal Atmospheric Modeling for Both Operational and Research Applications Using the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) Model (Hawaii)
  • Schofield, O. Using robots-radar-satellites to study biogeochemical dynamics on the Mid-Atlantic Bight (Lewes, DE).
  • Schofield, O. The view from the COOL room. University of Connecticut (Groton, CT)
  • Rhine, E.D., K.M. Onesios, C.D. Phelps & L.Y. Young. 2006. Isolation of Arsenic Mobilizing and Utilizing Microorganisms from New Jersey Shale. Abstract and poster presented at the Annual Meeting, Superfund Basic Research Program, NIEHS, Jan 12-13, 2006.
  • Garcia-Dominguez, E., R. Xie, B. Buckley, T. Chase, E.D. Rhine & L.Y. Young. 2006. Arsenic Methylation by Desulfovibrio vulgaris. Abstract and poster presented at the Annual Meeting, Superfund Basic Research Program, NIEHS, Jan 12-13, 2006.
  • Papers presented by Alan Robock:
    • Effects of solar dimming on soil moisture trends (with Haibin Li; presented by Haibin Li; 18th American Meteorological Society Conference on Climate Variations, Atlanta, Georgia, January 29 ­ February 2, 2006)
    • The effect of vegetation type on the seasonal and diurnal cycles of soil temperature (with Thomas Atkins; presented by Thomas Atkins; 18th American Meteorological Society Conference on Climate Variations, Atlanta, Georgia, January 29 ­ February 2, 2006)
    • Seasonal and Diurnal Cycles in Climate Change and Variability (with Konstantin Y. Vinnikov and N. C. Grody; presented by Konstantin Y. Vinnikov; 18th American Meteorological Society Conference on Climate Variations, Atlanta, Georgia, January 29 ­ February 2, 2006)

New Grants

  • Department of Defense- Office of Naval Research 2006 “Mapping in situ apparent optical properties using coastal Slocum Webb gliders” PIs Schofield, O., and S. M. Glenn ($175,255)
  • Cook College, Special Projects Funding 2006 “Enhancing the Teaching Collaboratory for the Rutgers University (R.U.) Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL)” Glenn, S. M., Schofield, O., Chant, R. J., Kohut, J., McDonnell, J. ($20,000)
  • National Science Foundation Collaborative Research 2006-2009 “Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of Mid-shelf Fronts” Kohut, J., Ullman D. ($143,393)
  • SEA GRANT 2006-2007“ Development of an HF radar derived near-shore wave and current product: Application to rip current probability along the New Jersey Coast” Kohut, J., Barrick, D. ($160,004 + $100,000 match from Rutgers)
  • Department of Defense, Major University Research Initiative program (MURI) 2006-2011. “Rapid environmental assessment using an integrated coastal ocean observation and modeling system” PIs Schofield, O, Glenn, S. M., Fennel, K., Wilkin, J., McGillicuddy, D., He, R., Gawarkiewicz, G., Moline, M. A. ($4,916,133)

Publications

  • Broccoli, A. J., 2006: Review of "Climate Change: A Natural Hazard." Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 95-97.
  • Bushek, D. and S. Boyd. 2006. Seasonal Abundance and Occurrence of the Asian Isopod Synidotea laevidorsalis in Delaware Bay, USA. Biological Invasions, Online First, DOI: 10.1007/s10530-005-2890-5
  • Gao, C., A. Robock, S. Self, J. Witter, J.P. Steffenson, H.B. Clausen, M.-L. Siggaard-Andersen, S. Johnsen, P. A. Mayewski, and C. Ammann, 2006: The 1452 or 1453 A.D. Kuwae eruption signal derived from multiple ice core records: Greatest volcanic sulfate event of the past 700 years. J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2005JD006710, (in press).
  • Hewitt, C. D., A.J. Broccoli, M. Crucifix, J.M. Gregory, J.F.B. Mitchell, R.J. Stouffer, 2006: The effect of a large freshwater perturbation on the glacial North Atlantic Ocean using a coupled general circulation model. J. Climate (in press).
  • Ma, H., J.P. Grassle, and R.J. Chant. Vertical distribution of bivalve larvae along a cross-shelf transect during summer upwelling and downwelling. Marine Biology (in press).
  • Oman, L., A. Robock, G.L. Stenchikov, T. Thordarson, D. Koch, D.T. Shindell, and C. Gao, 2006: Modeling the distribution of the volcanic aerosol cloud from the 1783-1784 Laki eruption. Submitted to J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2005JD006899, (in press).
  • Reed, A.J., R.A. Lutz, and C. Vetriani. Vertical Distribution and Diversity of Bacteria and Archaea in Sulfide and Methane-Rich Cold Seep Sediments Located at the Base of the Florida Escarpment. Extremophiles, in press (published online: DOI: 10.1007/s00792-005-0488-6)
  • Toline, C.A., P. Kenny and D. Bushek. 2005. Cement-coated stakes enhance recruitment of damaged oyster reefs (South Carolina). Ecological Restoration, 23(4):277-288.
  • Totten, L.A., M. Panangadan, S.J. Eisenreich, G.J. Cavallo, T.J. Fikslin. Direct and Indirect Atmospheric Deposition of PCBs to the Delaware River Watershed. Environmental Science and Technology, (in press).
  • Vinnikov, K.Y., N.C. Grody, A. Robock, R.J. Stouffer, P.D. Jones, and M.D. Goldberg, 2006: Temperature trends at the surface and in the troposphere. J. Geophys. Res., 111, D03106, doi:10.1029/2005JD006392.
  • Yang, H. and X. Guo. 2006. Polyploid induction by heat shock-induced meiosis and mitosis inhibition in the dwarf surfclam Mulinia lateralis Say. Aquaculture, 252:171-182.

Student News

  • Sean Boyd, a Master's student in Dave Bushek's lab, was awarded a $2,000 grant from the New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute to complete research on " The potential impact of the Asian isopod, Synidotea laevidorsalis (Meirs 1881), in the Delaware Bay, USA."
  • Mike Kreisel's work on measuring triclosan and DEET in tap water from Woodbridge has been selected for oral presentation at Monmouth University's Science Fair. Mike is a senior at Woodbridge High School and has been working with Lisa Totten on this project.
  • Andrea Kornbluh and Rachel Koehler, along with the IMCS flumes made the cover of the Fall 2005 Quarterly Review of Non-native Oyster Research.

    Rachel, pictured in front on cover, was a RIOS intern last summer, with John Quinlan and Dave Bushek as co-mentors. Rachel's formal RIOS project with John Quinlan was on layered structure in the coastal ocean. She will present her RIOS project at the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research 2006 in Asheville (http://www.ncur.org/).

    Rachel is the "second" NSF-supported undergraduate intern to work on the oyster project with Bushek and Quinlan. (Sarah Hauke, now planning for grad school in marine chemical ecology - was the first.)

    Andrea Kornbluh, pictured behind Rachel, is currently a technician in Dave Bushek's lab. Andrea was just offered an Excellence Fellowship from the Graduate School at Rutgers. Congratulations Andrea!


     

Community Service

  • Oscar Schofield Co-Chaired the session for “Ocean Sensors, Sensor Networks, and Cyberinfrastructure Communication” at the AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences (Honolulu, Hawaii)
  • COOL room hosted the Oceanographer of the Navy
  • COOL room hosted a visiting group from the Naval Research Lab and the Naval Oceanographic Office
  • Oscar Schofield participated in “Creating the workforce of the future” at Camden middle school workshop for the State of New Jersey Department of Personnel
  • Scott Glenn and Oscar Schofield gave a joint talk and paper on LEO: The Next Generation at the Scientific Submarine Cable (SSC06) bi-annual meeting in Dublin in February. The talk was well received by the international community,
    leading to an invitation to be part of the group testifying to Congress on the value of the $310 M Ocean Observing Initiative.
  • Lisa Totten participated in the Douglass Science Career Exploration Day for female high school juniors and seniors on Saturday, Feb. 11
  • Marine Academy of Science and Technology (M.A.S.T.) Team Wins the 2006 Shore Bowl Regional Ocean Sciences Bowl
    On Saturday, February 25th, sixteen teams of high school students from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania competed in the 7th annual Shore Bowl, a regional ocean sciences bowl hosted by the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences (IMCS) at Rutgers University. Students from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (M.A.S.T.) clinched their fifth title in the competition this year, outwitting several other regional teams based on their knowledge of the marine sciences. On their way to victory M.A.S.T. faced several formidable opponents, including those from the Wyoming Area Secondary Center in Exeter, PA (2nd place), and the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science in Toms River, NJ (3rd place).

    The Shore Bowl is one of 25 regional competitions across the country held in support of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB® ), a program of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research & Education located in Washington, DC. The winning M.A.S.T. team from the Shore Bowl will go on to compete against the other regional champions in the 9th Annual NOSB during May 13-15 in Pacific Grove, California.

    A special thank you is extended to Eric Simms and to the nearly 50 volunteers, including many from IMCS, who dedicated their time and expertise to making the competition such a success.

    The NOSB and its regional competitions include Q&A “buzzer” rounds, team challenge questions, educational field trips and social activities that encourage interaction among student peers with marine scientists. For more information on the Shore Bowl and the NOSB competition, visit http://www.imcs.rutgers.edu/k12ed/shorebowl.htm.