NSU Currents Spring 2014 Newsletter - Volume XXIV, Issue 1

2 Students, Faculty Members Participate in Gulf of Mexico Oil Study M.S. students Cayla Dean and Bryan Hamilton are shown working with the CARTHE research team in the Gulf of Mexico. Alexander Soloviev , Ph.D., OC professor, along with M.S. students Cayla Dean and Bryan Hamilton , traveled to the Pensacola-Destin area as part of the Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE) research team. The three-week field campaign centered around the fate of oil that is released into the environment. As a part of this study, NSU researchers also took sea surface and subsurface samples to aid in an NSU project that is currently funded by a President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant. The purpose of the research is to predict the fate of oil that is released into the environment and help inform and guide response teams. The predictions can help minimize oil spill damage to human health, the economy, and the environment. “Despite the industry’s best efforts, oil spills still occur,” said Soloviev. “It’s not a matter of if, but when. We need to be ready to act, and our research is aimed at helping those responding to such crises. The goal is to, as much as possible, lessen the negative impact an oil spill has on the environment.” Cayla Dean, M.S. student, retrieves a membrane filter, which is used to collect DNA samples in the sea surface microlayer. As a part of the study, the OC group implemented new methods to sample the sea surface microlayer and subsurface water in order to determine what types of surfactant and oil-associated bacteria were present. These bacteria can aid in the formation of sea slicks, which affect many aspects of the sea surface and can be seen in satellite imagery. Certain bacteria can also use oil as a source of energy, making these organisms important when studying the presence of oil in marine environments. CARTHE, funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, consists of several major oceanographic organizations and is coordinated by Tamay Özgökmen, Ph.D., professor at the University of Miami. Scientist Works with NOAA Fisheries on Coral Recovery Plan Alison Moulding, Ph.D., research scientist Alison Moulding , Ph.D., OC research scientist, is currently working with the Protected Resources Divisionat theNationalOceanicandAtmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Protected Resources Division implements the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act and is responsible for the protection, conservation, and recovery of marine mammals and threatened and endangered species throughout the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Moulding has been working to complete the recovery plan for staghorn and elkhorn corals, which were listed as threatened under the ESA in 2006 and whose status was proposed to be changed to endangered in 2012. She has also been involved in writing portions of the final listing rule for these two coral species and an additional seven Caribbean coral species that were also proposed for listing under the ESA in 2012. She has been awarded a grant from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to coordinate active population enhancement activities for coral species listed under the ESA. This project’s goal is to strategically coordinate the many conservation efforts using larval rearing and coral nurseries so that individual efforts contribute toward a common vision of recovery.