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March 31, 2004
Highlights
- RUCOOL Satellite operations has set up an emergency data transfer
system with colleagues at the University of Maine to back up the
NOAA SST data collected with our L-Band system. This collaboration
is the first of it's kind and will serve as a model for backing
up and sharing satellite data within ocean observing systems.
We have also set up an ftp protocol to share data collected from
the Chinese fy1-d satellite on a daily basis with the University
of Texas at Austin. Finally, the Indian government has activated
on our Oceansat (OCM) license and we now track passes with our
x-band dish over the east coast region every other day.
- On March 18, 2004, Ken Able gave expert testimony before the
U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Conservation,
Wildlife and Oceans, which is examining reauthorization of the
Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act.
- Norbert Psuty was the recent recipient of the Mel Marcus Distinguished
Career Award, bestowed on him by the Geomorphology Specialty Group
of the Association of American Geographers. It was presented to
Norb at the National Meeting of the AAG, 14-19 March 2004, Philadelphia,
PA.
- David Bushek was elected to serve another term as Treasurer
for the National Shellfisheries Association.
- Susan Ford received the David A.Wallace Award from the National
Shellfisheries Association at their annual Business Luncheon.
John Kreauter, a previous recipient also from the HSRL, presented
the award which is given to an individual whose actions most demonstrate
the principles and actions concerned with programs in shellfisheries,
aquaculture, and conservation as exemplified by Mr. David Wallace
during his lifetime. These principles and actions should include
promoting understanding, knowledge, and cooperation among industry
members, the academic community, and all levels of government
(state, national and international); an outstanding success in
bringing together shellfish scientists and industry officials
for the benefit of shellfisheries.
- Liz Sikes has been appointed an associate editor of the journal
Paleoceanography.
- A new book entitled "The Taming of the Oyster" by
Dr. Melbourne Carriker is available from the National Shellfisheries
Association (www.shellfish.org) and details the history of the
Association. Of interest to Rutgers, IMCS, NJAES and HSRL is the
documentation of the prominent role that Rutgers scientists, students
and staff have played in the development and operation of the
Association and it predecessors during the past century.
- The February 2004 paper on "Mercury in canned tuna"
by Michael Gochfeld and Joanna Burger in Environmental Research
was among the documents considered by the FDA in its March 2004
revised advisory: What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish
and Shellfish.
Meetings Attended
- Sybil Seitzinger attended the International Geosphere-Biosphere
Program (IGBP) Scientific Committee Meeting, in Moscow, Russia,
from March 2-6, 2004.
- IMCS was well represented at Aquaculture 2004 in Hawaii by faculty,
staff and students from HSRL. Aquaculture 2004 was held March
1-5 in Honolulu. It is the triennial meeting of the World Aquaculture
Society, the National Shellfisheries Association and the Fish
Culture Section of the American Fisheries Society. Ecological
impacts of aquaculture in the environment was a major theme that
began with opening talks by Dr. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State
University and Dr. Geoff Allan of Port Stephens Fisheries Centre
in New South Wales, Australia. The talks were followed by a panel
discussion and then a number of sessions dedicated to various
impacts such as the management of nutrient dynamics and exotic
species used in aquaculture. The conference drew well over 3,000
attendees with 17 concurrent sessions.
Highlights of IMCS presentations included:
- STRATEGIES FOR MAPPING DISEASE-RESISTANCE GENES IN THE EASTERN
OYSTER Crassostrea virginica (GMELIN)
Ximing Guo*, Ziniu Yu, Yongping Wang and Susan Ford
- PHYSICAL AND LINKAGE MAPPING IN THE EASTERN OYSTER Crassostrea
virginica GMELIN
Ximing Guo*, Yongping Wang and Ziniu Yu
- AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE GENETIC BASIS FOR PHENOTYPIC DIFFERENCES
OBSERVED IN CHROMOSOMAL MUTANTS OF THE PACIFIC OYSTER Crassostrea
gigas
B.J. Landau* and Ximing Guo
- PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION OF ALL-TRIPLOID AND DISEASE-RESISTANT
EASTERN OYSTERS FOR AQUACULTURE
Yongping Wang*, Ximing Guo, Gregory DeBrosse and Susan Ford
- LOCALIZATION OF TAACC REPEATS TO TELOMERES OF Penaeus
vannamei CHROMOSOMES BY FISH
Yongping Wang*, Ximing Guo, Acacia Alcivar-Warren, Linghua
Zhou and Jianhai Xiang
- GENETIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED STRAINS OF THE EASTERN OYSTER
Crassostrea virginica (GMELIN) USING AFLP AND MICROSATELLITE
MARKERS
Ziniu Yu* and Ximing Guo
- INTEGRATION OF ORNAMENTAL AQUATIC PLANT PRODUCTION IN CRANBERRY
FARMING
George E. Flimlin, Jr.*, Donald F. Schnoor and Thomas E. Budd
- Geff Flimlin also organized the "EAST MEETS WEST"
session in which members of the well established Pacific Coast
Shellfish Growers Association and the newly formed East Coast
Shellfish Growers Association met for the first time to discuss
issues of mutual interest. The program consisted of discussions
about Federal permitting of shellfish culture, foreign interest
in US shellfish markets, organic labeling of cultured shellfish,
assessing successful agricultural or aquaculture organizations,
tempering harvested clams, interstate or interregional shipping
of shellfish seed, update on post harvest treatment of shellfish,
using a marketing board to improve profits and environmental
impacts of shellfish aquaculture. The two groups also addressed
topics which they can collaborate on together, and where they
are focusing their energies presently. David Bushek of HSRL
presented information regarding interstate transport of shellfish
for aquaculture and related disease concerns during this session.
- Shannon Newby presented a poster entitled "Distribution
of juvenile Spisula solidissima at LEO-15 in 1993: Rippled reality
or a one year wonder?" at the Benthic Ecology Meeting in
Mobile, AL (March 25-28).
- Ximing Guo, Yongping Wang, Susan Ford and Gregory DeBrosse presented
two papers at the 24th Milford Seminar, February 23-25, 2004,
Milford, CT.
- Ximing Guo gave an invited seminar on "Shellfish Genetics
and Genomics" at Florida Institute of Technology, March 25,
2004. The seminar is part of the Elise B. Newell Seminar Series
sponsored by Florida Sea Grant College Program.
- John Reinfelder gave an invited talk: "Mercury and Other
Metals in the NJ Meadowlands," Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, University of Delaware. March 18, 2004.
- Lily Young gave a presentation, "Microbial Degradation
of Atkanes and PAHs in Anoxic Environments" on March 11,
2004, Dept. Microbiology Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
New Grants
- Ken Able recently received a grant from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (Baltimore District) for assessment of risk on entrainment
of juvenile summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) by hydraulic
dredges in the vicinity of Asseateague Island, Virginia. Field
work begins in mid-March.
- John Wilkin received $143,596 from the Office of Naval Research
for the first year of a 2-year study (March 2004 through Dec 2005)
on Modeling Boundary Layers and Air-Sea Interaction in the Coastal
Ocean using ROMS
and COAMPS.
- Oscar Schofield, Scott Glenn, and Josh Kohut were awarded a
Department of Defense-Office of Naval Research, DURIP grant to
acquire 2 Sloccum Gliders. The proposal "Development of an
Autonomous Relocateable Rapid Environmental Assessment Capability"
will provide the COOL group with both an Acoustic Doppler Current
Profiler Glider and a Bio-optical Glider.
- Tony Broccoli was awarded a grant from NOAA (Climate Change
Data and Detection) for the project "Evaluation of Fingerprints
of Natural and Anthropogenic Climate Change," May 1, 2004-April
30, 2007, $268,550.
- Scott Glenn and the CODAR group were awarded $1,000,000 from
the Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office for the project
"HFSWR Superdirective Antenna Technology Demonstration."
This work will be conducted in collaboration with Don Barrick,
CODAR Ocean Sensors, Ltd.
Publications
- The Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, published a total of 24
peer-reviewed journal articles in 2003.
- Wang, Y., Z. Xu and X. Guo. 2004. Differences in the rDNA-bearing
chromosome divide Asian-Pacific and Atlantic species of Crassostrea
(Bivalvia, Mollusca). Biol. Bull., 206:46-54.
- Vinnikov, Konstantin Y., Alan Robock, Norman C. Grody, and Alan
Basist, 2004: Analysis of diurnal and seasonal cycles and trends
in climatic records with arbitrary observation times. Geophys.
Res. Lett., 31, L06205, doi:10.1029/2003GL019196.
- Liu, A., E. Garcia-Dominguez, E.D. Rhine & L. Y. Young.
2004. A Novel Arsenate-respiring Isolate that can Utilize Aromatic
Substrates. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, in press.
Student News
Paul Falkowski, Dan Tchernov, Lisa Warden, Gary Taghon, Ronald Wong,
and Costantino Vetriani
Congratulations to Lisa Warden and Ronald Wong! Lisa and Ron were
selected to receive this year's Outstanding Senior in Marine &
Coastal Sciences Award. Lisa was working with Dan Tchernov and Paul
Falkowski on "Coral Bleaching and Metal Toxicity," and
Ron was working with Costantino Vetriani on "Microbial oxidation
of n-alkanes: isolation of organisms from deep-sea vents and cold
seeps, and identification of alkane hydroxylase genes."
Congratulations!
Allen Hays, Travis and Laina, congratulations on your engagement.
Best wishes from your friends at IMCS.
Let's Welcome
The Marine Field Station welcomes new postdoctoral associate Mark
C. Sullivan, who recently received his Ph.D. from University of
Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (Bob
Cowen, advisor). He will analyze/synthesize long-term ichthyoplankton
data sets, and examine the effects of mobile fishing gear on fish
habitats. |
