I am interested in the interaction
of organisms and their physical environment. The organisms that
fascinate me the most are those that have the potential to be
fossilized; these organisms either have hard parts (like shells)
or they have some behavior (like making burrows in the sediment)
that can be preserved. I focus on organisms that live in aquatic
(particularly shallow-marine) systems, and study both modern systems
and their ancient counterparts preserved in the rock record. My
research and the courses I teach reflect these interests.
Courses that I teach include:
- Marine Biology
- Sedimentology
- Environmental Biology
- Natural History of South
America
- Estuaries
- Soils
Research interests:
- Calcareous algae and microbes. I have concentrated
on Miocene algae (Spain), recent algae and microbes (Bahamas and freshwater
in Beloit, WI), and Proterozoic and Cambrian microbes. Here's a list of related publications
(mine and student) and some photos.
- Sedimentology and paleoecology of Miocene
reefs of Spain. Here's a list of related publications
(mine and student).
- Sedimentology and ecology of modern reefs.
In June 2002 I was involved with a study in Cozumel, Mexico to investigate
the sedimentology and ecology of tilefish mounds. See the project
page for more information and the
poster we presented at the 2003
Geological Society of America annual meeting.
- Science education. I was active in the K-12
Earth Sciences Education Committee of the SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).
K-12 will take you to the Committee's home page that provides links to
many on-line classroom activities. Here's a list of my education publications.
- Estuaries. I am interested in studying estuaries
using an earth systems approach. See a report of a Jan.
1998 workshop held at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
In June 1999 and 2001 I was involved in a student-faculty research project
sponsored by the Keck Geology Consortium. In 1999 students investigated a
variety of watershed issues; in 2001 the focus was on unraveling sea-level
history of southwest Florida. Here's a list of publications from these two projects.
- I am beginning a new study
of shell mineralogy of mussels and how the mineralogy reflects
the temperature of the water in which the organism grew. More
soon!
