"Doliolid Blooms: What are the Driving Variables? Investigations of Trophic Interactions"
Deidre Gibson
Hampton University
Monday, February 23, 2009
3:30 PM
Room 3200, Research Innovations Building I
Abstract
Despite current knowledge on the abundance and potential ecological significance of Doliolidae, actual ecological data
are extremely limited and many critical and fundamental ecological questions exist. What do doliolids eat in situ, and at what
rate? Does the phytoplankton composition control the formation and demise of doliolid blooms? Based on their anatomy,
distribution, and some detailed laboratory studies conducted to accurately replicate field conditions, the hypothesis is that
doliolids ingest small diatoms and soft bodied protists, but have difficulty ingesting large diatoms typical of continental shelf
upwelling. The intake of small cells could be sharply reduced because large diatoms/particles, touching the sensitive lobes
surrounding doliolid mouths, cause feeding current reversals and therefore limit food intake. Is the change in particle
composition/size distribution over time detrimental to the growth of very small doliolid zooids, and thus affecting the
persistence of populations?
Biography
Deidre Gibson received a B.S. degree in Oceanography from the University of Washington in Seattle. After graduating, she
worked as a research technician at the Louisiana University Marine Consortium (LUMCON) investigating the nutrient effects
from the Mississippi River on the zooplankton community in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2000, she received her Ph.D. at the
University of Georgia in Athens and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, studying the Biological Contributions of Doliolids
in the South Atlantic Bight. She is now an Assistant Professor in Marine Science and Biology at Hampton University where
she has created various enhancement programs for undergraduates and continues to chase doliolids.
Reception before seminar at 3:00 PM
Research Innovations Building I
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
757-683-5548
Last updated 2/11/2009.
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