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Recent Dissertations and Theses

2025

A Lagrangian perspective of mesoscale biophysical interactions in the subtropical ocean
Alexandra E. Jones-Kellett, Ph.D., 2025
Michael J. Follows , Advisor

2024

Movement Behavior and Energetics of Swimming Marine Mollusks
Seth Cones, Ph.D., 2024
T. Aran Mooney, Advisor

Decoding divergence in marine protistan communities: from strain diversity to basin biogeography
Arianna Isabella Krinos Quinn, PH.D., 2024
Harriet Alexander, Advisor
Michael J. Follows, Advisor

Characterization of Microbial Primary and Secondary Metabolism in the Marine Realm
David Edward Geller-McGrath, Ph.D., 2024
Virginia Edgcomb, Advisor

Assessing the impact of domoic acid exposure on the zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain across life stages
Alia Shifa Hidayat, Ph.D., 2024
Neelakanteswar Aluru, Advisor

Inference and Robotic Path Planning over High Dimensional Categorical Observations
John San Soucie, Ph.D., 2024
Yogesh Girdhar, Advisor
Heidi M. Sosik, Advisor

Genomic and physiological adaptation to temperature in the invasive golden star tunicate (Botryllus schlosseri)
Zachary John Corey Tobias, Ph.D., 2024
Carolyn Tepolt, Advisor

Exploring circadian rhythms, food intake, and their interactions in marine invertebrates
Cory Ailin Berger, Ph.D., 2024
Ann Tarrant, Advisor

An Assessment of the Biodistribution, Persistence, and Health Impacts of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Fish
Jordan A. Pitt, Ph.D., 2019
Mark Hahn , Advisor
Neelakanteswar Aluru, Advisor

2023

Examining coral reef ecosystem dynamics using microorganisms and metabolites!
Cynthia Becker, Ph.D, 2023
Amy Apprill, Advisor

Marine Parasites in Island-Like Disturbed Habitats
Lauren Dykman, Ph.D., 2023
Lauren S. Millineaux, Advisor

2022

Variations in Marine Microbiomes: From Habitat to Host
Lei Ma, Ph.D., 2022
Amy Apprill, Advisor

Trojan Horses in the Marine Realm: Characterizing Protistan Parasite Ecology in Coastal Waters
Taylor Sehein, Ph.D., 2022
Virginia Edgcomb, Advisor

2021

Environmental drivers of the abundance and distribution of forage fishes on the Northeast US shelf, with a particular emphasis on northern sand lance
Justin Suca, Ph.D., 2021
Joel Llopiz, Advisor

Assessing anthropogenic noise impacts and relevant soundscape cues for marine invertebrates: leveraging squid and coral reefs as model systems
Ian Jones, Ph.D., 2021
Aran Mooney, Advisor

The Role of Zooplankton in Regulating Carbon Export and Phytoplankton Community Structure: Integrating Models and Observations
Kevin Matthew Archibald, Ph.D., 2021
Michael Neubert, Co-Adivsor
Heidi Sosik, Co-Advisor

Distribution, Growth, and Transport of Larval Fishes and Implications for Population Dynamics
Christina Hernández, Ph.D., 2021
Joel Llopiz, Advisor

2020

Characterizing Cobalamin Cycling by Antarctic Marine Microbes across Multiple Scales
Deepa Rao, Ph.D., 2020
Mick Follows, Advisor

Characterizing the Ecology of Coral reef Microorganisms Across Different Scales Within the Caribbean
Laura Weber, Ph.D., 2020
Amy Apprill, Advisor

2019

Physiological and Behavioral Responses, and their Variability, in Squid, Doryteuthis Pealeii, Embryos and Paralarvae Reared Under Chronic Ocean Acidification
Casey Zakroff, Ph.D., 2019
T. Aran Mooney, Advisor

Impacts of developmental exposures to the harmful algal bloom toxin, domoic acid, on neural development and behavior
Jennifer Panlilio, Ph.D., 2019
Mark Hahn, Co-Advisor
Neel Aluru, Co-Advisor

Characterizing Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance, Prevalence, and Persistence in the Marine Environment

Megan May, Ph.D., 2019
Rebecca Gast, Advisor

Genetic Connectivity, Adaptation, and Phenotypic Plasticity of Corals and Anemones Under Thermal Stress

Hanny Rivera, Ph.D., 2019
Ann Tarrant, Advisor

2018

Movements and Oceanographic Associations of Large Pelagic Fishes in the North Atlantic Ocean

Camrin Braun, Ph.D., 2018
Simon Thorrold, Advisor

Evolutionary Conservation and Characterization of The Metazoan Amino Acid Response

Maja Edenius, Ph.D., 2018
Malcolm Whitman, Co-Advisor
Mark Hahn, Co-Advisor

2017

Trait-Based Modeling of Larval Dispersal in the Gulf Of Maine

Benjamin Jones, Ph.D., 2017
Rubao Ji, Advisor

Alexandrium catanella Cyst Dynamics in a Coastal Embayment: Temperature Dependence of Dormancy, Germination, and Bloom Initiation

Alexis Fischer, Ph.D., 2017
Donald Anderson, Advisor

Ciliate Micrograzer Dynamics of the New England Shelf

Emily Brownlee, Ph.D., 2017
Heidi Sosik, Advisor

Pteropod Shell Condition, Locomotion, and Long-term Population Trends in the Context of Ocean Acidification and Environmental Change

Alexander Bergan, Ph.D., 2017
Gareth Lawson, Advisor

Effects of Added Drag on Cetaceans: Fishing Gear Entanglement and External Tag Attachment

Julie van der Hoop, Ph.D., 2017
Michael Moore, Advisor

Coral Reef Soundscapes: Spatiotemporal Variability and Links to Species Assemblages

Maxwell Kaplan, Ph.D., 2017
Aran Mooney, Advisor

Spatiotemporal Population Genomics of Marine Species: Invasion, Expansion, and Connectivity

Eleanor Bors, Ph.D., 2017
Timothy Shank, Advisor

2016

Microbial Cycling of Marine High Molecular Weight Dissolved Organic Matter

Oscar Sosa, Ph.D., 2016
Edward DeLong, Advisor

Behavioral Responses of Invertebrate Larvae to Water Column Cues

Jeanette Wheeler, Ph.D., 2016
Lauren Mullineaux, Advisor

Defining the Ecological and Physiological Traits of Phytoplankton Across Marine Ecosystems

Harriet Alexander, Ph.D., 2016
Sonya Dyhrman, Co-Advisor
Elizabeth Kujawinski, Co-Advisor

The Choreography of Belonging: Toothed Whale Spatial Cohesion and Acoustic Communication

Nicholas Macfarlane, Ph.D., 2016
Peter Tyack, Advisor

2015

Evolutionary Demography of Structured Two-Sex Populations and Sex Ratios

Esther Shyu, Ph.D., 2015
Hal Caswell, Advisor

Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics in Deep-Sea Ogranisms

Santiago Herrera Monroy, Ph.D., 2015
Tim Shank, Advisor

Interactions Between Calanoid Copepod Hosts and Their Associated Microbiota

Amalia A. Almada, Ph.D., 2015
Ann Tarrant, Advisor

2014

Population Dynamics and Diversity of Synechococcus on the New England Shelf

Kristen Hunter-Cevera, Ph.D., 2014
Heidi Sosik and Michael Neubert, Co-advisors

Demographics of Lytic Viral Infection in Coastal Ocean Vibrio

Kathryn Kauffman, Ph.D., 2014
Martin Polz, Advisor

Age, Movements, and Feeding Ecology of Northwest Atlantic White Sharks Estimated From Ecogeochemical Profiles in Vertebrae

Li Ling Hamady, Ph.D., 2014
Simon Thorrold, Advisor

2013

Microbial Production and Consumption of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter

Jamie Becker, Ph.D., 2013
Daniel Repeta & Edward DeLong, Advisors

An Investigation of the Roles of Geomagnetic and Acoustic Cues in Whale Navigation and Orientation

Ann Allen, Ph.D., 2013
Peter Tyack, Advisor

Growth and Development of Larval Bay Scallops (Argopecten irradians) in Response to Early Exposure to High CO2

Meredith White, Ph.D., 2013
Lauren Mullineaux, Advisor

2012

The auditory system of the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata): A Potential Fatty Sound Reception Pathway in a Mysticete Cetacean

Maya Yamato, Ph.D., 2012
Darlene Ketten, Advisor

Sands and Environmental Conditions Impact the Abundance and Persistence of the Fecal Indicator Bacteria Enterococcus at Recreational Beaches

Elizabeth Halliday, Ph.D., 2012
Rebecca Gast, Advisor

2011

Species-Specific Patterns in Bivalve Larval Supply to a Coastal Embayment

Christine Mingione Thompson, Ph.D., 2011
Scott Gallager, Advisor

Modeling the Processes Affecting Larval Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) Survival on Georges Bank

Colleen Petrik, Ph.D., 2011
Cabell Davis, Advisor

Functional Connectivity of Coral Reef Fishes in a Tropical Seascape Assessed by Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analyses

Kelton McMahon, Ph.D., 2011
Simon Thorrold, Advisor

N2 Fixation by Subsurface Populations of Trichodesmium: An Important Source of New Nitrogen to the North Atlantic Ocean

Abigail Heithoff, S.M., 2011
Sonya Dyhrman, Advisor

Larval Ecology and Synchronous Reproduction of Two Crustacean Species: Semibalanus balanoides in New England, USA and Gecarcinus quadratus in Veraguas, Panama

Joanna Gyory, Ph.D., 2011
Jesus Pineda, Advisor

Reproductive Traits of Pioneer Gastropod Species Colonizing Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents After an Eruption

Skylar Bayer, M.S., 2011
Lauren Mullineaux, Advisor

Molecular Insights into the Niche of Harmful Brown Tides

Louie Wurch, Ph.D., 2011
Sonya Dyhrman, Advisor

Life Cycle Studies of the Red Tide Dinoflagellate Species Complex Alexandrium tamarense

Michael Brosnahan, Ph.D., 2011
Donald Anderson, Advisor

2010

On the Economic Optimality of Marine Reserves When Fishing Damages Habitat

Holly V. Moeller, S.M. 2010
Michael Neubert, Advisor

Biology and Potential Biogeochemical Impacts of Novel Predatory Flavobacteria

Erin C. Banning, Ph.D., 2010
Elizabeth Kujawinski and Karen Casciotti, Advisors

Form, Function and Flow in the Plankton: Jet Propulsion and Filtration by Pelagic Tunicates

Kelly Rakow Sutherland, Ph.D., 2010
Laurence Madin, Advisor

Phosphorus Physiology of the Marine Cyanobacterium Trichodesmium

Elizabeth D. Orchard, Ph.D., 2010
Sonya Dyhrman, Advisor

Ecology and Population Structure of Vibrionaceae in the Coastal Ocean

Sarah Pacocha Preheim, Ph.D., 2010
Martin Polz, Advisor

2009

Iron Limitation and the Role of Siderophores in Marine Synechococcus

Adam R. Rivers, Ph.D., 2009
Sallie Chisholm, Advisor; Eric Webb, USC, Thesis Supervisor

Diversity of the Marine Cyanobacterium Trichodesmium: Characterization of the Woods Hole Culture Collection and Quantification of Field Populations

Annette Hynes, Ph.D., 2009
Scott Doney, John Waterbury, Advisors

Iron and Prochlorococcus

Anne W. Thompson, Ph.D., 2009
Sallie Chisholm and Mak Saito, Advisors

Biotic and Abiotic Interactions of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent-endemic Fish on the East Pacific Rise

Kate L. Buckman, Ph.D., 2009
Timothy Shank, Advisor