An exciting day as we set up our seagrass mesocosms! As part of an #NSFfunded project, we are looking at the ecology of viruses in turtlegrass. #USFCMS #seagrass #ocean #Florida #virus #plant #LetItGrow #aquarium #science

Lab lunch today celebrating 3 birthdays and the last official day of summer (even though we have ~2 months of summer temperatures left here in Florida) #USFCMS

Whenever I’m feeling burnt out with work, #outreach is a guaranteed way to get reinvigorated! Had a blast this week exploring #TampaBay #plankton samples with a local Girl Scout troop! #USFCMS #GirlScouts #GirlScoutAlum #womeninSTEM #science

Here is a free read-only link to our latest paper on retention and export of planktonic fish eggs in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico #fish #barcoding #DNA #oceanography #science #USFCMS #fisheries
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/XTB7CTTCBYSMSBUGBNNA?target=10.1111/fog.12655

I am SO excited for this #SciArt #coral seminar tomorrow hosted by #USFCMS. Open to the public so if you’re in the #TampaBay area, please join us! Otherwise, check out Beatriz Chachamovits’ gorgeous work online: https://www.beatrizchachamovits.com/

I had a blast presenting our sea #urchin #disease #research today at the #USFCMS #faculty symposium! I even wore a costume, brought a live urchin for show & tell, and made themed snacks! #science

Check out episode #2 of Mark Martin’s “Matters Microbial” podcast on microbe tv featuring examples of shock-and-awe microbiology for grabbing students’ attention and an interview with me :)
#USFCMS #microbiology #micro #virology #phage #virus
https://youtu.be/GOWEANUgzpw

Water temps were unbelievably hot, but we had a great day in the field today sampling for our #seagrass #virus #research - Im so lucky to work with this incredible group of #USFCMS and #FWC scientists! #science #florida #virology #ocean #snorkel

I’m still in denial over the fact that it’s August but it’s really nice to start having the lab members all back in one place (yay for a birthday lunch today) and I am SO proud of our summer interns (3 undergrads and 1 high school student) who made incredible progress over the past few months #science #USFCMS #research #proudPI

They’re tiny but deadly - a glimpse into the ciliate culture that’s responsible for killing sea urchins in the Caribbean (each ciliate is about 1/20th of a millimeter long) #USFCMS #urchin #marine #microscopy #science #microbiology #protist #ocean #oceanography