Principle Investigators
Dr. Frances Wilkerson
Adjunct Professor of Biology
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
I am a Biological Oceanographer studying nutrient and phytoplankton interactions in the sea, especially those involving diatoms and eutrophic regions such as coastal upwelling and estuarine ecosystems. More specifically my research concerns nitrogen cycling in aquatic systems, and how fluxes of nitrate and ammonium affect phytoplankton, primary production and the biological pump. As such, it is linked with oceanic carbon fluxes and global climate change cycling. It also covers impacts related to anthropogenic nutrients, harmful algae and wetland systems. The research involves measuring nutrient uptake and assimilation using both traditional isotopic tracer approaches and some molecular genetics tools. Study sites include San Francisco Bay, coastal California and the equatorial Pacific. I am also interested in the role symbiotic algae play in marine symbioses, for example, zooxanthellae that reside in jellyfish, giant clams and anemones.
(415) 338-3519
[email protected]
CV
Adjunct Professor of Biology
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
I am a Biological Oceanographer studying nutrient and phytoplankton interactions in the sea, especially those involving diatoms and eutrophic regions such as coastal upwelling and estuarine ecosystems. More specifically my research concerns nitrogen cycling in aquatic systems, and how fluxes of nitrate and ammonium affect phytoplankton, primary production and the biological pump. As such, it is linked with oceanic carbon fluxes and global climate change cycling. It also covers impacts related to anthropogenic nutrients, harmful algae and wetland systems. The research involves measuring nutrient uptake and assimilation using both traditional isotopic tracer approaches and some molecular genetics tools. Study sites include San Francisco Bay, coastal California and the equatorial Pacific. I am also interested in the role symbiotic algae play in marine symbioses, for example, zooxanthellae that reside in jellyfish, giant clams and anemones.
(415) 338-3519
[email protected]
CV
Dr. Richard Dugdale
Adjunct Professor of Biology
Biological Oceanography and Biogeochemical Cycling
I am a biological oceanographer specializing in biogeochemistry and modeling, and studying the interaction of phytoplankton, nutrients (primarily nitrogen and silicon), and CO2. My current research is focused on the causes of low productivity in the San Francisco Estuary/Delta ecosystem and links to anthropogenic inputs of ammonium. Our lab measures nutrient and chlorophyll, with nitrogen and carbon uptake by phytoplankton that are incorporated into models to predict where and when high phytoplankton levels (blooms) can be expected. We contribute to the development of the Bay coupled circulation and biogeochemical model, SCHISM/CoSiNE. We also study the productivity of the Gulf of the Farallones and its links to San Francisco Bay outflow. Another current focus is on the role of the California Undercurrent in linking and providing nutrients to the upwelling centers and possible effects of climate change on the undercurrent nutrients. For context, I pioneered the use of the stable isotope 15N as a tracer in aquatic studies that enabled primary production by phytoplankton to be separated into production based on the input of "new" nutrients or on regenerated nutrients, and the concept of new production, now a basic paradigm of biological oceanography that allows the estimate of primary production available for export up the food chain or downward to the deep sea and sediments. Most of my research has centered on coastal and equatorial upwelling ecosystems. I constructed a silicate pump model linking silicate with nitrogen cycling that addressed the question "why isn't the equator greener?" and provided an alternative to the Fe hypothesis. Our silicate-limited productivity model has been incorporated into a general circulation model for the Pacific Basin, California coast and San Francisco Bay system.
(415) 338-3518
[email protected]
CV
Adjunct Professor of Biology
Biological Oceanography and Biogeochemical Cycling
I am a biological oceanographer specializing in biogeochemistry and modeling, and studying the interaction of phytoplankton, nutrients (primarily nitrogen and silicon), and CO2. My current research is focused on the causes of low productivity in the San Francisco Estuary/Delta ecosystem and links to anthropogenic inputs of ammonium. Our lab measures nutrient and chlorophyll, with nitrogen and carbon uptake by phytoplankton that are incorporated into models to predict where and when high phytoplankton levels (blooms) can be expected. We contribute to the development of the Bay coupled circulation and biogeochemical model, SCHISM/CoSiNE. We also study the productivity of the Gulf of the Farallones and its links to San Francisco Bay outflow. Another current focus is on the role of the California Undercurrent in linking and providing nutrients to the upwelling centers and possible effects of climate change on the undercurrent nutrients. For context, I pioneered the use of the stable isotope 15N as a tracer in aquatic studies that enabled primary production by phytoplankton to be separated into production based on the input of "new" nutrients or on regenerated nutrients, and the concept of new production, now a basic paradigm of biological oceanography that allows the estimate of primary production available for export up the food chain or downward to the deep sea and sediments. Most of my research has centered on coastal and equatorial upwelling ecosystems. I constructed a silicate pump model linking silicate with nitrogen cycling that addressed the question "why isn't the equator greener?" and provided an alternative to the Fe hypothesis. Our silicate-limited productivity model has been incorporated into a general circulation model for the Pacific Basin, California coast and San Francisco Bay system.
(415) 338-3518
[email protected]
CV
Collaborators
Dr. Alex Parker California Maritime Academy, CSU
Assistant Professor of Oceanography
My broad research interest is marine microbial biogeochemistry, addressing questions related to: 1) characterizing underlying controls on phytoplankton and bacterial processes in aquatic systems. 2) quantifying microbial food web dynamics 3) understanding microbial responses to coastal nutrient pollution. I primarily work in urbanized estuaries (Delaware Bay and San Francisco Bay Estuary) where coastal pollution, including large-scale nutrient fertilization, has had major impacts on the microbial community. In addition to my estuarine work, I have also conducted research in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, the Chukchi Sea (Arctic Ocean) and in Antarctica.
email
CV
Assistant Professor of Oceanography
My broad research interest is marine microbial biogeochemistry, addressing questions related to: 1) characterizing underlying controls on phytoplankton and bacterial processes in aquatic systems. 2) quantifying microbial food web dynamics 3) understanding microbial responses to coastal nutrient pollution. I primarily work in urbanized estuaries (Delaware Bay and San Francisco Bay Estuary) where coastal pollution, including large-scale nutrient fertilization, has had major impacts on the microbial community. In addition to my estuarine work, I have also conducted research in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, the Chukchi Sea (Arctic Ocean) and in Antarctica.
CV