29th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium

Professor and Associate Dean of Graduate studies Dave Owens has returned from presenting an invited paper at “An International Symposium : Reproduction of Marine Life” at the world famous Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium on the Japanese island of Okinawa.  The Owens paper, with Research Associate Gaëlle Blanvillain as a co-author, was titled “Captive Reproduction of Sea Turtles: An Important Success Story.”  He and three CofC graduate students also attended the 29th Annual International Sea Turtle Symposium, held Feburary 17- 19 in Brisbane, Australia.  Steven O’Connell (GPMB) and Melissa Bimbi (MES) gave oral presentations, and Jesse Alderson (GPMB) presented a poster.

Turtle Nursery

Dave and Gaëlle examining turtle with ultrasound

Undergraduate Researcher Published

Hannah & StarfishIn a newly published article in the journal Biological Bulletin, Hannah Giddens (a former CofC undergraduate) found that elevated seawater temperatures can cause herbivore to alter their feeding preferences, in some cases toward consuming foods that are of poorer quality even when higher quality foods are available.  This is the first demonstration of temperature-dependent shifts in feeding preference, and provides another example of how global increases in seawater temperature may alter the dynamics of nearshore ecosytems in surprising ways.

Student Research Colloquium

The Student Research Colloquium of the Graduate Program in Marine Biology (GPMB) was established in 1998, with the goals of increasing awareness of research activities by students and faculty affiliated with GPMB; providing graduate students with experience in making scientific presentations; and promoting interactions among faculty and students conducting research in marine biology. Oral and poster sessions, including the Friday social, were held at the Marine Resources Research Institute, Fort Johnson. The Lowcountry Boil on Saturday took place in the outdoor classroom adjacent to the Marshlands House. The poster presenters attended their posters from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday and the posters remained on display throughout the Colloquium. Meggie Kent won the award for best oral presentation. Please see the 2009 Colloquium Program for details about the presenters and topics.

SICB Meeting

The Grice Lab was well represented at the annual meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology in Seattle, Washington, January 3-7, 2010.  Members of the Burnett, Podolsky and McElroy labs were among the more than 1700 attendees at the international scientific conference.  The program included research presentations by undergraduates, graduate students and faculty, as well plenary talks by leading scientists, including Dr. Bruce Alberts, editor of Science magazine.  Representing the Grice laboratory, graduate students Daniel Fernandes, Kolo Rathburn, Nat Johnson and Kris Stover gave oral presentationsof their research, as did Drs. Bob Podolsky, Eric McElroy and Kristin Hardy.  They also took some time before and after the meeting to enjoy the sites of Seattle, including the Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, and even nearby Forks.