The Baines lab welcomes contact from potential PhD students, particularly those interested in studying plankton ecosystems.  We have a number of currently supported projects that could provide initial support and ideas for thesis topics.  Once a student has defined a topic, we’ve been very successful getting support for the project.  In addition, TAships are available through the Ecology and Evolution Department for 8 semesters for all PhD students.  Interested students should contact Dr. Baines for more information.  To get the best advice, it is best to include resumes, CVs and/or unofficial transcripts.

Funded Projects

Iron limitation of marine zooplankton.  The goal of this NSF-funded project is to evaluate the potential for copepod reproduction to be limited by the amount of Fe in their food.  The work involves lab experiments, with frequent local sampling to obtain experimental animals.  However trips to San Diego and/or Seattle to look at Fe limitation in situ are possible. 

Determining the role of picocyanobacteria in the marine silicon cycle.  This project will be funded for three years by NSF starting in Jan 2012 to determine the ability of single celled cyanobacteria in the ocean to accumulate silicon, and to assess the implications of this accumulation of biogeochemical cycling of Si and other elements.  The work involves laboratory experiments on Si uptake and characterization of the chemical state of Si using advanced single-cell spectrometry methods.  Two cruises to the Sargasso Sea out of Bermuda are also planned for each year of the project.

Dissolved organic matter as a energetic subsidy for zebra mussels.  We just received two years of funding from Hudson River Foundation to determine which fractions of dissolved organic matter are used by zebra mussels, to assess the importance of this energetic subsidy for zebra mussel populations in the Hudson River and to quantify the consequences for phytoplankton biomass and productivity.  The work includes lab experiments and field surveys of dissolved organic substances.  Experience with chemical characterization of compounds or with the physiology of aquatic invertebrates is a great advantage.   This work affords the opportunity to learn advanced mass spectrometric techniques for characterizing the composition of dissolved organic matter.

Using plant traits to predict denitrification in wetlands.  Starting in Feb 2012 we are funded for two years by NY Sea grant for a project that will determine how plant traits influence rates at which nitrate is transformed to nitrogen gas in tidal wetlands.  This work involves field work in salt water marshes on Long Island and freshwater tidal marshes on the Hudson River.  It also entails microcosm experiments in the greenhouse to look at linkages between sediment oxygenation, denitrification and plant traits.