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CURRENT RESEARCH
My research focuses on gelatinous zooplankton (GZ; e.g. ctenophores, scyphozoan jellyfish, hydromedusae, and pelagic tunicates) often thought to be favored over other marine organisms in the face of environmental stress and climate change. Through combinations of field sampling, targeted laboratory experiments, and large-scale modeling, I aim to describe population dynamics, assess changes in communities, and identify drivers of observed change in GZ. My dissertation research focused on the early life stages of scyphozoan jellyfish (polyps and ephyrae) and their response to various environmental conditions such as temperature, hypoxia, and coastal acidification. As a postdoc in the ZERO-C lab, I worked with data collected via in situ high-resolution imaging to quantify patterns in the abundance and distribution of GZ related to oceanographic conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico and locally in coastal Georgia. This research lends insight not only to where GZ are located but ultimately the oceanographic and ecological processes influencing their abundances and distributions. PHD RESEARCH
Treible, L.M. and R.H Condon (2019) Temperature-driven asexual reproduction and strobilation in three scyphozoan jellyfish polyps. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. and Ecol. 520, 151204 2015 East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) Determining the effects of a changing global climate on the early life stages of jellyfish In the summer of 2015 I had the opportunity to participate in the NSF EAPSI fellowship and work under Dr. Kylie Pitt (Griffith Sea Jellies Research Lab) at Griffith University. While there, I used a new gas-flow system to manipulate O2, N2, and CO2 in different combinations to create experimental conditions of hypoxia and reduced pH. Polyps of the moon jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, were exposed to these conditions to determine effects on asexual reproduction and respiration. This work is published advanced view in Marine Ecology Progress Series Jellyfish Blooms 5 Theme Section, and can be viewed open access here. Treible, L.M., K.A. Pitt, S.G. Klein and R.H Condon (2018) Exposure to elevated pCO2 does not alter reproductive suppression of Aurelia aurita jellyfish polyps in low oxygen environments. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 591: 129-139 PREVIOUS PROJECTS
The Influence of Gelatinous Zooplankton on Nutrient Cycles, Hypoxia, and Food Webs Across Long Island Sound My MS work focused on gelatinous zooplankton, specifically the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, in Long Island Sound. This work was supported by NY Sea Grant, and led by co-PIs Dr. Darcy Lonsdale and Dr. Chris Gobler. The project looked broadly at ctenophore population dynamics in Long Island Sound during the summers of 2011 and 2012. My research focused more specifically on the contribution of both live and collapsed M. leidyi populations to the nutrient pools in the sound, and their role in nutrient cycling. These results have been published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, and the full MS thesis can be accessed here. Treible, L.M., D.J. Lonsdale, and C.J. Gobler (2014) The Role of the Ctenophore Mnemopsis leidyi in Nutrient Cycling in Long Island Sound, NY. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 510: 215-227 Impacts of Climate Change on the Export of the Spring Bloom in Long Island Sound PIs Dr. Chris Gobler and Dr. Darcy Lonsdale led this NY Sea Grant- funded project that provided me with some funding during my first year of my MS degree at Stony Brook. My work on this project involved quantifying zooplankton populations and determining energy and biomass transfer from phytoplankton to zooplankton during the winter-spring phytoplankton bloom. This project was the MS work of Dr. Gobler's graduate student Jenny George, and has been published in Limnology & Oceanography. George, J. A., Lonsdale, D. J., Merlo, L. R. and Gobler, C. J. (2015), The interactive roles of temperature, nutrients, and zooplankton grazing in controlling the winter–spring phytoplankton bloom in a temperate, coastal ecosystem, Long Island Sound. Limnol. Oceanogr., 60: 110–126. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lno.10020/full Impact of Wind on Non-Photochemical Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) (2009) University of Delaware, Hugh R. Sharp Campus; Lewes, DE A Field Study Determining the Growth of Invasive and Native Species of Phragmites in New Castle, DE In the Spring of 2009, I participated in undergraduate research in Dr. Thomas Hanson's lab at University of Delaware. Along with a small team of fellow undergraduates, we collected field samples of Phragmites and learned lab techniques to quantify the microbes found in and around the rhizomes, which allow this invasive plant to take over. You can read more about this project in UDaily: Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise. |