Advisory Board and Editors Biological Oceanography
Ana Pavasovic
Dr. Pavasovic is an academic in the School of Biomedical Sciences at QUT. Her research interests are primarily in the area of physiological and functional genomics of marine invertebrates. Dr. Pavasovic uses molecular and bioinformatic approaches to answer questions relating to stress physiology and novel gene evolution in animal systems.
Xavier Pochon
Team Leader, Molecular Surveillance, Biosecurity Group, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand.
Associate Professor, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
My research at the Cawthron Institute is highly applied and consist of developing multi-trophic molecular tools for environmental monitoring of marine industries (e.g. aquaculture farms, marine biosecurity in ports and marinas, and deep-sea exploration).
At the University of Auckland, I combine 'real-world' and 'blue-sky' research applications, including; i) investigating functional underpinnings of Symbiodiniaceae in coral reef ecosystems, ii) characterizing microbiomes in aquaculture and natural settings, iii) measuring eDNA and eRNA decay rates in marine invertebrates and vertebrates, iv) studying preferential settlement of marine invasive species associated with marine plastic debris, and v) exploring the diversity and dynamics of open-ocean plankton communities in the Pacific and beyond.
Nichole N Price
Nichole Price is a Senior Research Scientist and Director of a new center focused on securing sustainable, nutritious, and safe seafood for generations to come at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. The center for Seafood Security seeks to translate cutting-edge marine science to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Nichole’s research and partnerships with NOAA, the Nature Conservancy, the US Geological Survey, and US Fish and Wildlife have taken her SCUBA diving around the globe on coral reefs in Africa, Asia, and across remote islands in the Central Pacific. More recently, she has focused her work in Southern California and the Gulf of Maine where she has partnered closely with members of the seaweed and shellfish industries to develop remediation strategies for ocean acidification, nutrient loading, and low oxygen conditions.
Nichole earned her Ph.D. in marine ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and became a postdoctoral scholar and project scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography before moving to Maine. She has 10 years experience on the studying impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and uses this knowledge to help find evidence-based, local solutions to global challenges.
Pei-Yuan Qian
Chair Professor of Division of Life Science and Director of Environmental Science Programs of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Founding Director of Coastal Marine Lab of HKUST and Founding President of Pacific Institutes of Marine Sciences, Editor or Editorial Board Member of >10 international journals. Inventor of patents on marine bioactive compounts.
Federica Ragazzola
Researcher at Stazione Zoologica Anton Dorhn (Ischia-Italy). My research focuses on understanding the effect of climate change on biomineralization processes and the modification in the ultra-structure of calcifying organisms, in particular in coralline algae.
Michael S Rappé
Mike is a tenured Research Professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and is a member of the graduate faculty with the Departments of Oceanography, Microbiology, and the interdisciplinary Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The overarching theme of his research is to understand the impact of microbial genetic diversity on ocean ecology, and interpret this diversity through the lens of bacterial taxonomy and evolution. He investigates the ecology and evolution of marine microorganisms by combining surveys of natural microbial communities, nucleic acid sequence data, and studies with model systems in controlled laboratory settings.
Ginger A Rebstock
Staff researcher with the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels at the University of Washington since 2001. Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
James Davis Reimer
James Davis Reimer's research focuses on the biodiversity of understudied marine invertebrate groups (so-called "minor taxa"), primarily benthic cnidarians including zoantharians and their endosymbionts, as well as octocorals, from shallow tropical coral reefs to the deep sea. Recent research has also examined the impact of coastal development on marine diversity and ecosystems. Since 2007, he has been based at the University of the Ryukyus, where he is now a professor.
In 2015, he was awarded the Okinawa Research Prize for science contributing to the well-being and understanding of the Ryukyu Islands, and in 2021, he was awarded the Narishige Prize by the Zoological Society of Japan in recognition of his unique research output.
Aniello Russo
Senior Scientist at the NATO STO CMRE in La Spezia (Italy), Assistant Professor (on special leave) at the Polytechnic University of Marche (Italy) in the scientific sector Oceanography and Atmospheric Physics. Main research field concerns physical oceanography and relationships with atmosphere, clima, marine environment and biology. Participated in over 20 oceanographic cruises in the Mediterranean Sea and Polar areas.
Hugo Sarmento
Professor in the Department of Hydrobiology of the Universidade Federal of São Carlos (UFSCar). Head of the Laboratory of Microbial Processes and Biodiversity, my research area is aquatic microbial ecology, with emphasis on biotic interactions, structure and function of planktonic communities in all compartments of the food web (viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton) mainly in tropical aquatic environments.
Andrew A Shantz
I am a marine ecologist, utilizing principles from community and physiological ecology to understand the impacts of global change on marine ecosystems.
Amy NS Siuda
I am a marine ecologist and biological oceanographer. My research interests span marine plankton ecology from organismal to population and community levels. Plankton form the foundations of marine food webs. Complex interactions exist among plankton as well as between plankton and the physical/chemical environment. To understand these patterns and processes, my research team employs experimental (e.g., controlled bottle experiments), observational (e.g., net tow sampling) and molecular approaches in data collection. Current projects include: distribution and diversity of Sargassum and its associated community; and plankton-microplastic interactions. I am also passionate about decreasing accumulation of plastic marine debris. Through the Reduce Single-Use Project, we raise awareness of the plastic marine debris problem and encourage reduction of single-use plastic consumption on campus, in St. Petersburg, and across Florida.