Voss lab Master’s student Ryan Eckert was recently awarded a $5,000 research grant from the PADI Foundation for his research investigating population structure of the scleractinian coral species Montastraea cavernosa along a depth gradient on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef in Belize. The PADI Foundation encourages and supports research and education related to aquatic environments, funding and assisting research and projects which enrich our understanding of aquatic environments and encourage sensitivity to and protection of ecosystems. Eckert’s was one of 81 funded proposals in 2018 from a pool of over 400.   Congratulations Ryan!

FAU HBOI faculty including Drs. Joshua Voss, Dennis Hanisak, John Reed, and Cris Diaz attended the 2018 Trinational Initiative workshop on April 25-27 in Mérida, Yucatán, México. Over 80 participants from the U.S., México, and Cuba representing government agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions attended the workshop hosted by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). The Trinational Initiative advances collaboration and conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean among the three countries.  In addition to  a presentation on the 2017 CIOERT expedition in Cuba delivered by Dra. Patricia Gonzalez and John Reed, the HBOI CIOERT team worked with Mexican and Cuba scientists to develop plans for expanding mesophotic coral reef research and student opportunities, agreed to participate in creating a health status report for coral reefs in the GOM, and continued preparations for the forthcoming  2018 Cuba expedition.  Special thanks to Fernando Bretos and Katie Thompson of CubaMar for coordinating the workshop and inviting us to participate!

Following his dissertation defense in December 2017, Michael completed his remaining graduate requirements and submitted his dissertation to the FAU Graduate College in spring 2018. His dissertation research has resulted in two accepted manuscripts in Frontiers in Marine Science (found here and here), one in revision in Coral Reefs, and two more manuscripts in prep for submission in summer 2018.

Michael has accepted a postdoctoral research associate position in the lab through December 2018, and will be continuing to produce manuscripts associated with his dissertation research and other lab research projects. Additionally, he will be coordinating summer research cruises to FGBNMS and Cuba, and will serve as a technical diver and scientific communicator on board both missions.

Congratulations Michael!

Ph.D. student Lexie Sturm was awarded the National Science Foundation-Graduate Research Fellowship, a three year fellowship that provides stipend and cost-of-education support. In addition, she was awarded two Florida Sea Grant scholarships, the Sea Grant Scholars Program and the Elise B. Newell Scholarship. She was also awarded the Marine Conservation Scholarship supported by the Women Divers Hall of Fame organization. The funding was awarded in support of her work on coral connectivity in Cuba and the Tropical Western Atlantic. Lexie will be using the funds from the Sea Grant and Women Divers scholarships to purchase dive gear for future field expeditions, learn and implement new molecular techniques in her coral population genetics research, and to expand her outreach efforts in Florida and Cuba. In addition, funding from the Newell Scholarship will support her travel and conference attendance so that she can share her findings.

Applications for the Sea Grant, Women Divers Hall of Fame, and NSF-GRF scholarships will reopen in Fall of 2018.
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If you have any questions or are interested in applying, please contact Lexie at asturm2017@fau.edu.