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Thesis and Dissertation Archive

2024

Hannah Choi (Ph.D.): New perspectives on oceanic methane cycling: accelerated methane cycling in hydrothermal plumes and cryptic methane cycling in the surface ocean

2023

Alcorn, Jordan (M.S. non-thesis): Endometabolite composition differs among temperature-acclimated cultures of Emiliania huxleyi

Adriana Webb (M.S. non-thesis): Guiding the way with Marine Debris 101: An online course for ecotour guides

Kilgore, Taylor (M.S. non-thesis): Oceans of Plankton: Designing an interactive exhibit and evaluating engagement with aquarium visitors

Giordano, Gabriella (M.S.): Ecological and biogeochemical responses to a shifting salinity gradient in tidal marshes of the Satilla River Estuary, GA, USA

Martineac, Rachel (Ph.D.): ​​​​​​​Transformation and transport of dissolved organic matter in coastal systems using molecular and ocean color approaches

Schreier, Jeremy (Ph.D.): Insights into marine bacterial community interactions using novel fitness and chemotaxis assays

Kyle Craig (M.S.): Metabolic controls on nitrogen fixation in anaerobic methane-oxidizing consortia & novel explorations of microbial rate law identification

Nathan Greenslit (M.S.): The Interacting Effects of Local Conditions and Saharan Dust Deposition on Vibrio Population Dynamics in Nearshore Coastal Waters

William Schroer (Ph.D.): Metabolite transport and its role in marine microbial interactions​​​​​​​

2022

Arlinghaus, Kandis (M.S.): Illuminating Superoxide Pathways in Irradiated Natural Waters Using Varied Chemical Parameters

Umstead, Devon (M.S.): Bulk Aerosol Ion Concentrations & their Impacts on Trace Metal Solubility During the US GEOTRACES GP-15 Pacific Meridional Transect

Kovalanchik, Lisa (M.S. non-thesis): The Catch of a Decade: A Report of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant Trawl Records from

Brown, Severen (M.S. non-thesis): Examining Fine-Scale Larval Fish Patterns Using In-Situ Imagery Coupled with Oceanographic Measurements in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

White, Kellie (M.S. non-thesis): Long-Term Conservation Efforts: Native Minnesota Freshwater Mussel Propagation, Survey, and Monitoring

Ferrer-Gonzalez, Frank (Ph.D.): Heterotrophic Bacteria as Biological Sensors of Phytoplankton Exometabolomic Resources in the Surface Ocean

McCormick, Abigail (M.S.)Microplastic Contamination and Possible Sources in a Small Public Aquarium 

Steffen, Rachel (M.S.)Methane Dynamics in Selected Wetlands, Rivers, and Bays of Newfoundland, Canada.  

Manns, Tiandra (M.S.)Impacts on Tidal Channel Migration on Salt Marsh Ecology and Carbon Storage

Aaron, Kyle (M.S.): Utilizing a towed shadowgraph imaging system to resolve the influence of vertical structure on mesozooplankton traits in the South Atlantic Bight

Ma, Kun (Ph.D): Solar Radiation and Dissolved Organic Matter in Aquatic Environments

Countryman, Chandler (Ph.D): Using Agent-Based Models to Investigate the Biogeochemical Role of Mesozooplankton in the Ocean

2021

Sibert, Ryan (Ph.D.): Anaerobic Hydrocarbon Oxidation in Marine Cold Seeps

Montgomery, Andy (Ph.D.): Novel perspectives on carbon cycling in extreme marine environments

Plumb, Kaylie (M.S.): The contribution of proteorhodopsin to the cellular energy budget of the Antarctic diatom pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata

Mu, Linquan (Ph.D.): Using in-situ and remotely-sensed observations to estimate the influence of Amazon River chemistry and discharge of atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake in the western tropical North Atlantic Ocean

Amos, Caitlin (Ph.D.): Mesoscale eddies and sea surface temperature fronts in Eastern Boundary Current Systems

2020

Adams, Ian (Ph.D.): Modeling deep-dea hydrothermal plumes and the circulation pattern of the Endeavour Ridge Segment

He, Xiaojia (Ph.D.): Mechanistic understanding of extracellular electron transport: Modeling measurements of single-cell activity

Letourneau, Maria (Ph.D.): Dissolved organic matter dynamics in coastal aquatic systems

Anderson, Sean (Ph.D.): Temporal dynamics of plankton mortality in the Skidaway River Estuary (GA, USA)

Nowinski, Brent (Ph.D.): Gene- and genome-centric analyses of bacterial niche dimensions in the coastal ocean

Pfeiler, Elizabeth (M.S.): Investigating the presence and impact of a novel Akashiwo sanguinea bloom in the Skidaway River Estuary

Rooze, Jurjen (Ph.D.): The role of advection in early diagenesis: From seeps to nearshore and coastal margin sediments

2019

Duffy, Patrick (M.S.): Estimating rates of gross TEP production and heterotrophic consumption from natural assemblages

Oliver, Hilde (Ph.D.): Physical controls on light and nutrients in coastal regions receiving large fluxes of glacial meltwater

Owen, Daniel (M.S.): A "bottom-up" approach to estimate taxon-specific primary production rates on coral reefs

Shepard, Cathrine (M.S.): Nutrient availability modulate the effects of Corexit 9500A on oil biodegradation

Peffer, Colby (M.S.): Assessing long-term and short-term shoreline change of Cockspur Island in the Savannah River Estuary 

2018

Burns, Christine (M.S.): Historical analysis of 70 years of salt marsh change at three coastal lter sites

Ernani da Silva, Carolina (M.S.): Mississippi river plume variability in the Gulf of Mexico derived from SMAP and MODIS-AQUA

Fagundes, Matheus (M.S.): Exposure of nearshore organisms to climate stressors in the upwelling region of Monterey Bay

Jung, Yeajin (Ph.D.): Modeling growth and production dynamics of Spartina alterniflora

Richards, Trevor (M.S.): A spatial and temporal investigation of esturaine and shelf flows on the Georgia coast

Rogener, Mary Kate (Ph.D.): An assessment of anthropogenic impacts on marine methane and nitrogen cycling in the water column and sediments with an emphasis on greenhouse gas dynamics 

Wang, Yu (M.S.): Modeling near-bottom flow and sediment resuspension in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Daivd Miklesh (Ph.D.): posthumous  

2017

Tansik, Anna (Ph.D.): Quanitification and modeling of inorganic carbon processing in scleractinian coral

Harrison, Sarah (M.S.): Lessons from the Taylor Energy oil spill: History, seasonality, and nutrient limitation

Thomas, Courtney (M.S.): Metabolites of bacterial-phytoplankton interactions in the surface ocean

2016

Babcock-Adams, Lydia (M.S.): Elucidating natural and anthropogenic marine processes using molecular biomarkers

Wang, Yuntao (Ph.D.): Fronts and variability in the coastal ocean

Liu, Qian (Ph.D.): Biogeochemical cycling of polyamines in a coastal marine environment

McKnight, C. Jared (M.S.): A modeling study of horizontal transport and residence time in the Duplin River estuary, Sapelo Island GA

Shen, Chen (Ph.D.): Carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms in marine diatoms: genetics, physiology, and diversity

Wang, Shiyu (M.S.): Inorganic carbon and oxygen dynamics in a marsh-dominated estuary

2015

Dornhoffer, Thomas (Ph.D.): The Benthos and nutrient cycling: insights from multi scale analysis.

Cao, Fang (Ph.D.):Linking UV optical properties and photochemical rates using remotely sensed ocean color.

Ledoux, Jonathan (M.S.): Drivers of groundwater flow at a back barrier island-marsh transect in coastal Georgia.

Wang, Jinxiang (M.S.): Biogeochemistry of archaeal membrane lipids: toward a better understanding of the bias of TEX86 in the transitional zone between Pearl River estuary and coastal South China Sea

2014

Chen, Baoshan (Ph.D.): Responses of marine carbonate system to warming and sea-ice retreat in the pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean

Mu, Linquan (M.S.): Spatial variability and magnitude of surface pCO2 and air-sea carbon fluxes in the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica.

Powers, Leanne (Ph.D.): Probing the photochemical reactivity of oceanic dissolved organic carbon

Schaefer, Sylvia (Ph.D.): Controls on nitrogen inputs, loads, and in-stream concentrations in the Altamaha River, Georgia, and beyond

Schutte, Charles (Ph.D.): Nitrogen cycling and trace gas dynamics in shallow coastal aquifers

Williams, Colin (M.S.): Pelagic microbial heterotrophy in response to a highly productive bloom of the marine haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica in the Amundsen Sea Polynya.

2013

Joanna Green (M.S.): Linking photochemical carbon transformations and microbial responses in the Amazon River plume.

Wei-jen Huang (Ph.D.): Inorganic carbon distribution and dynamics in the Mississippi River plume on the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Eric King (Ph.D.): Biogeochemical dynamics in porous media: formulating microbial metabolism in reaction transport models.

Kathy Loftis (Ph.D.): Geochemistry of lignin biomarkers in marsh environments of the Georgia coast.

Jonathan Pahlas (M.S.): Size dependent shifts in the diet of the mangrove tree crab, Aratus pisonii, as indicated by 13C & 15N from a mangrove ecosystem in Indian River Lagoon, FL.

Julia Slaughter (M.S.): Factors influencing groundwater and surface water hydrogeochemistry with a special emphasis on the importance of sediment geology.

2012

Carrie Givens (Ph.D.): A fish tale: comparison of the gut microbiome of 15 fish species and the influence of diet and temperature on its composition.

Christine Hladik (Ph.D.): Use of remote sensing data for evaluating elevation and plant distribution in a southeastern salt marsh.

Caroline McFarlin (Ph.D.): Salt marsh dieback: the response of Spartina alterniflora to disturbances and the consequences for marsh invertebrates.

Hai Pan (Ph.D.): Impacts of biogeochemical processes on phytoplankton-produced lipid biomarkers and their stable carbon isotopic compositions.

Kirsten Rhodes (M.S.): The role of physiology in the formation of Prochlorococcus sub-surface maxima in the Sargasso Sea.

Katherine Segarra (Ph.D.): A study of methane-related processes in freshwater ecosystems: methanogenesis, anaerobic methane oxidation, and interactions with other terminal metabolisms.

2011

Marshall Bowles (Ph.D): Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling interactions in organic carbon rich extreme environments.

Scott Gifford (Ph.D.): Ecological insights into marine microbial communities via expression analyses.

Galen Kaufman (M.S.): Application of the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) to evaluate dissolved nitrogen concentrations in the Altamaha River estuary, Georgia.

Heather Reader (Ph.D.): Smouldering oceans: on the photochemically mediated oxidation of dissolved organic matter in coastal waters.

2010

Alexandra Maas (M.S.): Methyl bromide degradation in Southern Ocean sea ice.

Guangyu Xu (M.S.): The investigation of hydrothermal plumes by the acoustic scintillation method.

2009

Liqing Jiang (Ph.D.): Biogeochemical cycling of carbon dioxide in estuaries and the continental shelf of the southeastern United States.

Yige Zhang (M.S.): Methane Index: a tetraether archaeal lipid biomarker proxy for detecting the instability of marine gas hydrates.

2008

Brad Blythe (Ph.D): Diel characteristics of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus populations in the western Sargasso Sea.

Feizhou Chen (Ph.D): Biogeochemistry of CO2 system and net community production during mesoscale cyclonic eddies in the lee of Hawaii.

Matthew First (Ph.D.): Benthic microbial food webs: spatial and temporal variations and the role of heterotrophic protists in salt marsh sediments.

Marcia Hsu (M.S.): A study of the sensitivity of coastal ocean models to vertical mixing.

James Paul McKay (Ph.D.): Temporal and spatial variability of transport and mixing mechanisms using heat and salt in the Duplin River, Georgia.

Rachel Poretsky (Ph.D.): Transcriptomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of marine microbial communities.

William Porubsky (Ph.D.): Biogeochemical dynamics in coastal sediments and shallow aquifers.

Briana Ransom (M.S.): Intestinal microbial community composition of six Actinopterygii fish species in the Southeastern United States.

Weidong Zhou (Ph.D.): Diversity and potential geochemical functions of prokaryotes in hot springs of the Uzon Caldera, Kamchatka.

2007

Chris Burbage (Ph.D.): Picocyanobacterial cellular physiology and trophic interaction with a heterotrophic nanoflagellate.

Stephen Carini (Ph.D.): A biologeochemical and molecular ecological study of aerobic methane oxidation and nitrification in Mono Lake California, USA.

Randolf Culp (Ph.D.)Compound specific radiocarbon and stable isotopes of lignin biomarkers: a study of terrestrial organic carbon in the Altamaha River, Estuary and South Atlantic Bight.

Katherine Doyle (M.S.): Spatial and temporal distributions of pelagic biota using hydroacoustic surveying at Gra's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Georgia.

Jenny Fisher (Ph.D): Characterization of novel arsenite oxidation pathways in Mono Lake, California, USA.

Justin Hartman (M.S.): Determination of gas exchange velocities based on measurements of air-sea CO2 partial pressure gradients and direct chamber fluxes in the Duplin River, Sapelo Island, GA.

Elizabeth Adair Johnson (M.S.): Investigating carbon monoxide (CO) consumption in the marine bacterium Silicibacter pomeroyi (DSS3) with coxL gene expression.

Justine Lyons (Ph.D.): Molecular description of ascomycete fungal communities on Spartina spp. in the U.S.

Beth Orcutt (Ph.D.): Anaerobic oxidation of methane in cold seeps and gas hydrates: responsible microorganisms, rates of activity, and interactions with other processes.

Melissa Pirchio (M.S.): The spatial modeling of the vegetative propagation of Thalassia testudinum.

Jennie Seay (M.S.): Spatial and temporal distribution of decapod larvae in the Satilla River estuary, GA.

Jacob Shalack (M.S.): Movement and behavior of whelks (Family Melongenidae) in Georgia coastal waters.

Qi Ye (Ph.D.): Microbial diversity associated with metal- and radionuclide- contamination at the DOE Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA.

2006

Sarah Cooley (Ph.D.): Dissolved inorganic carbon cycling in the offshore Amazon River plume and the western tropical North Atlantic ocean.

Jihong Dai (Ph.D.): Biogeochemical study of the Altamaha estuarine system: variations in organic matter input and biochemical reactivity.

Rasalynn Lee (Ph.D.): Primary production, nitrogen cycling and the ecosystem role of mangrove microbial mats on Twin Cays, Belize.

Xiaozhen Mou (Ph.D): Culture-independent characterization of DOC-transforming bacteriplankton in coastal seawater.

Eric Porterfield (M.S.): UV-physiology of a diatom (Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima) isolated from the Sargasso Sea.

Elizabeth Wandzell (M.S.): Bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon and dynamics of Actinobacteria in the California State Water Project.

Haibing Ding (Ph.D.): Study of biogeochemical factors affecting organic matter (lipid biomarkers) degradation: structural association, redox condition, enzymatic response, and benthic macrofaunal activity.

2005

Charles Budinoff (M.S): Ecophysiology of a Mono Lake cyanobacterium.

Ki Ryong Kang (Ph.D.): Waves, turbulence and circulation in the Altamaha River Estuary, Georgia.

Gary LeCleir (Ph.D.): Chitinolytic bacteria and enzymes from Mono Lake, CA, USA.

Liliana Velasquez (M.S.): Benthic primary production in coastal salt marsh systems.

Nathaniel Weston (Ph.D.): Biogeochemistry in the coastal zone: changing land use, salinity intrusion, porewater stoichiometry and the mineralization of organic matter in estuarine sediments.

2004

Caroline McFarlin (M.S.): Impact of fertilization on a salt marsh food web in Georgia.

Matthew Ogburn (M.S.): Salt marsh dieback in Georgia: field survey and transplant experiments.

Merrilee Thoresen (Ph.D.): Temporal and spatial variation in seston available to oysters and the contribution of benthic diatoms to their diet in the Duplin River, Georgia.

Susan White (Ph.D.): Spartina species zonation along an estuarine gradient in Georgia: exploring mechanisms controlling distribution.

Amanda Wrona (Ph.D.): Determining movement patterns and habitat use of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun) in a Georgia saltmarsh estuary with the use of ultrasonic telemetry and a geographic information system (GIS).

2003

Erin Biers (M.S.): Microbial interactions on decomposing Spartina alterniflora: use of fungally-modified leachate by bacterial communities in an experimental salt marsh decomposition system.

Rubao Ji (Ph.D.): Biological and physical processes controlling the spring phytoplankton bloom dynamics on Georges Bank.

Scott Noakes (Ph.D.): Rapid survey of anthropogenic contaminants in surficial sediments of the Ashley River, Charleston, South Carolina.

Kathryn Sutherland (Ph.D.): Etiology and histopathology of the white pox disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral Acropora palmate.

Zhaohui Wang (Ph.D): Biogeochemical changes of chemical signals in the Georgia "land-to-ocean continuum".

2002

Alan Dodd Barton (M.S.):  Multipath tracking and acoustical oceanography measurements in a stratified coastal tidal channel.

Charles Cotton (M.S.): Optimizing growth for aquaculture of juvenile black sea bass Centropristis striata L. : effects of temperature, salinity, commercial diet and feeding ration.

Kathryn Dudeck (M.S.): Detection and distribution of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria of coastal Georgia waters using molecular-based methods.

Lisa Hodges (M.S.): Microbial dynamics in the Arctic Chukchi Sea : differences in microbial abundance and bacterial community composition in high and low production regimes.

Justine Lyons Moreta (M.S.): Diversity of ascomycete laccase sequences and contributions of bacteria and ascomycetous fungi to lignocellulose degradation in a southeastern U.S. salt marsh.

Jim Sullivan (Ph.D.): Molecular Characterizations of Aquatic Nitrogen Cycling Bacteria.

Leslie Tooke (M.S.): Parasites of the Black Sea Bass, Centropristis Striata.

2001

Alison Buchann (Ph.D): Ecology and genetics of aromatic compound degradtion in the ecologically important roseobacter lineage of marine bacteria.

Carrie Smith (M.S.): Analysis of Historic Vegetation Changes in Two Georgia Estuaries Using Aerial Photography and GIS.

Lianyuan Zheng (Ph.D.): Modeling Studies of Three-Dimensional Tide- and Buoyancy- Induced Flow, Sediment Resuspension, and Water Quality in the Satilla River Estuary, Georgia .

Yan Zhong (M.S.): Phylogenetic diversity of marine cyanophages as revealed by sequences of viral capsid assembly protein gene g20.

2000

Diedre Gibson (Ph.D): Feeding growth and reproduction rates of the doliolid dolioletta gegenbauri uljanin (tunicata, thaliacea).

Stacey Webb (M.S.): Growth, Movement, and Residence Time of Juvenile White Shrimp Within The Tidal Marsh Landscape.

Pingsan Zhao (Ph.D.): Microelectrode Study of Carbon Cycling and Related Biogeochemical Mechanisms in Coastal Sediments.

Dirk Koopmans (M.S.): Photochemical production of inorganic nitrogen from dissolved organic nitrogen in waters of the Satilla River and adjacent groundwater

James Stacy Savage (M.S.): Distribution and partitioning of sediment-associated PCBs in a simulated (mesocosm) environment

1999

Lianyuan Zheng (M.S.): A three-dimensional modeling study of estuarine system: an application to Satilla River, Georgia.

1998

Wei Shi (M.S.): Composition and distribution of lipid biomarkers in Altamaha estuarine sediments: a clue for transport, deposition and degradation of organic matter from terrestrial and marine sources.

Pingsan Zhao (M.S.): Development of a new generation of pH and pCO₂ microelectrodes for marine sediment studies .

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