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https://jeb.biologists.org/content/early/2020/05/29/jeb.221424

Recently I was featured on the International Coral Reef Society’s blog. Check it out here!

Under Sea Learning - Otoliths and Nematocysts - OSU Winter Wonderings | Winter Wonderings is a program put on by Oregon State University's PreCollege Programs. The program is geared towards gifted, highly talented 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Will Fennie and I taught a course examining the importance of knowing fishery age structures and how sea anemones acquire nutrition. For the fisheries portion of the course, we introduced students to otoliths (essentially fish ear bones). Otoliths are similar to tree rings in that we can count the age of the fish (by counting rings laid down annually) and we can determine how large the fish was and what the environment was like that it lived in from year to year. For the sea anemone nutrition part of the course, we introduced the students to the concepts of heterotrophy and photoautotrophy. All sea anemones have structures called nematocysts; stinging cells; that are located on the sea anemone's tentacles and are used to deliver toxins into and capture prey that swims by -  this is the heterotrophy part. Some sea anemones house microalgal symbtions which undergo photosynthesis and provide some sugars to the sea anemone -- this is the photoautotrophy part. The students observed microalgal symbionts in sea anemone tentacles and then induced the nematocysts to fire using a chemical stimuli (vinegar). Check out the video to see what nematocysts firing looks like!

2016 International Coral Reef Symposium Presentation | The sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima occurs in the intertidal zone from Mexico to Alaska. It is symbiotic with two genera of microalgae, the highly productive dinoflagellate Symbiodinium and the less productive chlorophyte Elliptochloris. The enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) catalyzes the interconversion of bicarbonate and CO2 and is known to play an important role in delivering CO2 to symbionts embedded deep in host tissues. Symbiont types in anemones are differentially distributed depending on latitude, tidal height, and light level. Anemones containing Symbiodinium are found at lower latitude, higher light environments compared to Elliptochloris-containing anemones that occur at higher latitude and lower light. Anemones in very low light lack symbionts. Previous research found aposymbiotic (without symbionts) and Elliptochloris-containing anemones to have similar and low CA activity compared to Symbiodinium-containing anemones. We predicted that anemones collected from lower latitudes would have greater CA activity than anemones of the same symbiotic state at higher latitudes. To test the effect of light on CA, A. elegantissima from the Oregon coast were collected and split into three 30-day treatments: dark, low light, and high light. To test the effects of latitude A. elegantissima were collected from several locations ranging from central Oregon to the Puget Sound. Symbiont density counts and CA assays were performed in triplicate on each anemone. Our results suggest that latitude, symbiont type and density, and light interact to influence CA in A. elegantissima.

Five science students nab top NSF award | Writer: Srila Nayak, OSU | A total of five science Ph.D. students have received prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) awards in 2016. Biochemistry and Biophysics student Nathan Waugh and Integrative Biology students Shannon Hennessey, Jack Koch, Zach Randall and Michael Brawner are among 11 students at Oregon State to receive the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships this year. In 2016, NSF received nearly 17,000 applications and offered 2,000 awards. Established in 1952, the NSF GRF Program is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, and recognizes and supports outstanding master’s and doctoral students in STEM disciplines at accredited U.S. institutions. The GRFP provides three years of financial support within a five-year fellowship period for graduate study that leads to a research-based master’s or doctoral degree in science or engineering. Students receive a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance, which goes to the graduate institution. The award-winning projects in science cover an impressive gamut of topics, including biomolecular healthcare research, an invertebrate ecological habitat study, the effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms and semi-aquatic predator-prey interactions. But more importantly, these NSF awards demonstrates that the College’s newest fellows are outstanding young scientists with the potential to contribute significantly to research, teaching, scientific innovations, and to make a difference in the world. Article. 

Elephant Toothpaste - OSU Winter Wonderings | Winter Wonderings is a program put on by Oregon State University's PreCollege Programs. The program is geared towards gifted, highly talented 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Will Fennie and I taught a course examining chemical state changes (gas, liquid, solid), chemical reactions, and an introduction to the scientific method. Our activity is called 'Elephant Toothpaste' which involves a chemical reaction between activated yeast and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The reaction is exothermic, meaning that heat is produced. This is fun and all, but we feel that there is more to this opportunity than just a really cool reaction. We also had our students make hypotheses about what would happen when we vary the opening size of the reaction vessel; what do you think will happen? Tweet @jackckoch and use the #elephanttoothpaste to send us your thoughts! Check out the full video here.

2016 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Presentation | Anthopleura elegantissima participates in a facultative symbiosis with two microalgae Symbiodinium muscatinei and Elliptochloris marina. The symbiosis is centered around nutrient exchange including reduced organic carbon, inorganic nitrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 is used in algal photosynthesis and is produced in part by anemone carbonic anhydrase (CA) which catalyzes the reversible reaction of bicarbonate (HCO3-) to CO2. Under ocean acidification conditions, algal symbiont densities in A. elegantissima have been shown to increase, thereby increasing the demand for CO2 by the symbionts. Additionally, ocean acidification causes an increase in the abundance of HCO3- and CO2 in seawater. Therefore, we predicted that an increase in algal symbiont density under acidifying conditions would trigger an increase in anemone CA activity to meet the need for increased CO2. Aposymbiotic, Symbiodinium-, and Elliptochloris-containing A. elegantissima were collected from four locations around San Juan Island, and placed into ambient and high pCO2 conditions for ten days. Anemone CA activity was only measured after the experiment and algal densities were measured before and after the experiment. There was no significant effect of pCO2 or symbiotic state on the CA or density of algal symbionts after ten days of treatment. Our findings suggest that A. elegantissima may have internal homeostatic mechanisms to respond to increased pCO2 levels and concomitant increased algal densities.