Fort Johnson Seminar Series

Blake Scott - Chair and Associate Professor of International Studies, College of Charleston

THE M.A.R.S.H. PROJECT: HISTORY AND ECOLOGY IN THE PLUFF MUD

This talk introduces the work of the Marsh Appreciation and Restoration Society for Happiness (M.A.R.S.H.) Project - a community program advocating for nature-based solutions in downtown Charleston.

Watch Online: https://meet.goto.com/339635869

Nadya Mamoozadeh -PhD | Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University

From Conservation to Consumption: Genomic Applications in Fisheries Management and Seafood Traceability

Genomic approaches are transforming how we understand and manage aquatic species, from uncovering fish responses to climate change to improving seafood traceability in global markets. This talk highlights innovations that link molecular science with biodiversity conservation, fisheries management, and food security

Marzieh Motallebi - Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science, Clemson Universi

The Value of Ecosystem Services

Janet Thibault - Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Division, SCDNR

Crab Bank: The Evolution of an Island Restoration

Janet will discuss the background of rebuilding Crab Bank Seabird Sanctuary from dredged material removed from the deepening of Charleston Harbor and the resulting wildlife use of the island in the years since restoration. This will be a descriptive talk about how the project came together before construction, details of the building process, and use of the island by seabirds and shorebirds after restoration as well as other plants and wildlife surveyed on the island.

Dr. Laura Langan - Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina

EXTENDING TOXICOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING FOR COASTAL AND BRACKISH SPECIES -WITHOUT ANIMAL USE

Extending toxicological understanding for coastal and brackish species - without animal use chemicals impact organisms causing both direct and indirect damage, ranging from cell to whole-body effects, often affecting critical functions like growth, reproduction or behavior. While the focus of toxicology has been in understanding how chemicals impact lab animals through the direct exposure and study of animals, we are moving into a space where animal experimentation are being phased out. This talk will provide a broad overview of the current aquatic space, along side case studies of how my lab is starting to address some of the gaps in this space.

Dr. James Morris - Research Professor and Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Belle W. Baruch Institute, University of South Carolina

Highlights from forty years and counting of research about salt marsh primary production, biogeochemistry, and vertical accretion.

Since 1984, data from North Inlet, South Carolina salt marshes have shaped marsh equilibrium theory, showing that Spartina alterniflora adjusts growth and vertical accretion in response to sea-level changes. This feedback maintains marsh elevation within a range optimal for plant growth, enabling resilience to sea-level rise (SLR). Spartina also drives nutrient cycles, coordinated by sulfate-reducing bacteria and influenced by lunar cycles. These feedbacks have sustained marshes for millennia. However, current SLR rates at North Inlet and beyond have surpassed a tipping point, threatening marsh survival in the coming decades.

Dr. Emily Osborne - Executive Director, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium

QUANTIFYING LARGE EPISODIC SARGASSUM FLUXES TO THE DEEP OCEAN INTERIOR

Massive Atlantic Sargassum blooms are increasingly influencing ocean biogeochemical cycling. While research has focused on surface dynamics, little is known about subsurface export. We report the first sediment-trap evidence of Sargassum transport to the mesopelagic during the record 2022 bloom, capturing large fragments at 600 m with export rates up to 8 mg m⁻² day⁻¹ over ~100 days. Flux patterns mirrored satellite surface biomass, and molecular markers revealed smaller fragments exported for 150 days. Exported Sargassum contained ~30% carbon, one-third as inorganic carbon from calcium carbonate epibionts. These findings reveal significant, episodic carbon export to the deep ocean, underscoring its underrecognized role in carbon cycling.

Dr. Kelly Gibson - Associate Professor of Geology, Department of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of South Carolina Aiken

WHEN THE ICE AGES CHANGED: TROPICAL PACIFIC LESSONS FOR A WARMING WORLD

With human influence now driving climate change at rates unprecedented in historical records, looking to Earth’s past can help us anticipate how the planet may respond to continued warming. This talk explores climate variability in the Tropical Pacific Ocean over the past 1.5 million years, using chemical clues preserved in deep-sea sediments to reconstruct shifts in ocean circulation, temperature, and air–sea interactions. These records reveal how changes in the tropics have shaped global climate patterns through time and offer valuable perspective on the processes that will influence Earth’s climate in the future.

Rachael Rowe - Doctoral Student, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

TBA

Dr. Sarah Nancollas -Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina

FROM SEAS TO STREAMS: HOW ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLEXITY SHAPES PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO STRESS IN AQUATIC ORGANISMS

Aquatic organisms live in dynamic environments where they often experience complex combinations of environmental signals that can fluctuate unpredictably across space and time. To understand how organisms will function in an increasingly stressful world, it is essential to identify how different aspects of environmental stress exposure (such as magnitude, predictability, and duration) influence physiological performance. My research takes an ecologically realistic approach to determine which aspects of these integrated signals are most meaningful for shaping performance, and how this varies across species, life stages, and habitats to understand how environmental complexity drives physiological resilience and ecosystem functioning.

Dr. Nick Peng - Assistant Professor, School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of South Carolina

THE ECOLOGY OF FUNGAL DIVERSITY DRIVING AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS

Microbes interact among themselves and with the physical world. They respond to environmental changes in ways that drive ecosystem functions. This presentation will discuss the important yet underappreciated role fungi play in carbon and nitrogen cycling in marine environments, including the open ocean and salt marsh sediments.

Dr. Lisa Ailloud - Research Mathematical Technician, Southeast Fisheries Science Center

TBA