CONFERENCE AGENDA (link to printable PDF version: click here)

Saturday, March 25

Breakfast on your own

8:00 Registration, Coffee, Snacks - MRRI Lobby

8:00 - 2:00 Exhibits and Posters - MRRI Lobby

9:00 - 12:00 Plenary Session - MRRI Auditorium

12:15 - 1:00 Lunch - Outdoor Classroom

1:00 - 2:00 Discussion of Ocean Literacy - Outdoor Classroom

2:00 - 5:00 Field Trips - Boat Slip and Hollings Marine Lab

SESSIONS SCHEDULE

SESSION I: PLENARY SESSION A: 9:00 - 10:20

Current Marine Research Roundtable (for all audiences) - MRRI Auditorium (15-minute presentations)

Paula Keener-Chavis, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration: Moderator

This plenary session will consist of short presentations by several local marine scientists. Each presentation will be followed by a short question period. A longer discussion will follow at the end of all presentations.

09:00 Nancy Hadley, South Carolina DNR: SCDNR Oyster Research

Oyster reefs are critical components of the SC coastal ecosystem. SCDNR studies ecological functioning of oyster reefs and restores habitat on both small and large scales.

09:20 Susan Lovelace, Hollings Marine Laboratory: Research and Education at the Center of Excellence in Oceans and Human Health at Hollings Marine Laboratory

Those of us who live, work, or vacation at the coast experience first-hand the physical, biological and often spiritual connections that occur between humans and the ocean. Current research explores those connections to predict changes and solve problems within this system.

09:40 Elizabeth Wenner, South Carolina DNR: What Makes the ACE Basin So Unique?

The Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin of South Carolina has a largely undeveloped landscape consisting of extensive, diverse habitats, such as saltwater and brackish-water marshes, maritime forests, upland pines, and bottomland hardwoods. These ecologically important attributes, coupled with management goals that balance conservation of natural resources with economic development and population growth, have made the ACE Basin the focus of national attention. People are attracted to the mild climate, rural character, affordable land prices, recreational opportunities, and natural settings available in the vicinity of the ACE Basin, yet population growth and urbanization may affect the very things that attract people to the area.

10:00 Sarah Goldman, College of Charleston: Feeding Habits of Some Fishes on the Continental Slope off the Southeastern United States

The feeding habits of the commercially important wreckfish and all bycatch from the wreckfish fishery were examined to determine the trophic relationships of these ecologically dominant upper slope fishes.

BREAK: 10:20-10:40

SESSION II: PLENARY SESSION B: 10:40 - 12:00

Current Marine Research Roundtable (for all audiences) - MRRI Auditorium (15-minute presentations)

Paula Keener-Chavis, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration: Moderator

This plenary session will consist of short presentations by several local marine scientists. Each presentation will be followed by a short question period. A longer discussion will follow at the end of all presentations.

10:40 H. Scott Meister, South Carolina DNR: Here, There....Everywhere? A Case Study of the “Local: Lionfish, an Example of Uncontrolled Biological Invasion in Our Backyard

Lionfish have invaded our local marine reefs and a variety of sources seem to indicate they like their new home.

11:00 Ammon Lesher, College of Charleston: Analyzing Surface Currents of the South Atlantic Bight

Studies that track the dispersal of eggs and larvae from a point source are an important component in the study of recruitment variability, larval dispersal, and marine protected area science. In this presentation the mechanisms by which pelagic eggs and larvae are transported within the South Atlantic Bight will be described using satellite-tracked drifters released over reef-fish spawning grounds.

11:20 Amanda McCarty, College of Charleston: Local Adaptation of the Herbivorous Amphipod, Ampithoes longimana

We are examining a possible evolutionary arms race between tropical chemically defended seaweed and the herbivorous amphipod, A. longimana.

11:40 Speakers and Audience: Discussion of current marine research and science teaching standards

This will be an exchange of ideas between teachers and researchers, and is intended to be a two-way communication.

SESSION III: LUNCH AND PLENARY DISCUSSION: Ocean Literacy: 12:15 - 1:45

SESSION IV: FIELD TRIP ABOARD THE R/V Silver Crescent, AND TOUR OF LABORATORIES: 2:00 - 5:00

SPONSORS

The Spring Mini-Conference is sponsored by SCMEA and made possible by its members' generous donation of time and support. Sincere appreciation also goes to the University of South Carolina’s Center for Science Education, the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for their contributions to this conference.