Mary Alice Coffroth is an American marine biologist who is a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is known for her use of molecular tools to examine coral larval ecology, recruitment and cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.
Mary Alice Coffroth | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1954 (age 69–70)[1] Somerset, PA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Marine Biology |
| Institutions | State University of New York at Buffalo |
| Thesis | Mucous sheet production by poritid corals (1988) |
Education and career
editCoffroth has a B.S. from the College of William and Mary (1976), and an M.S. (1981) and a Ph.D. (1988) from the University of Miami.[1] In 1990 she joined the State University of New York at Buffalo where, as of 2023, she is a professor in the geology department.[2]
Research
editHer PhD research focused on the production of coral mucus by poritid corals and its role in the reef ecosystem.[3] She was an early adopter of molecular approaches in marine ecology initially examining gorgonian population genetics using DNA fingerprinting,[4] followed by research into the molecular taxonomy of cnidarian photosymbionts.[5] Coffroth has used the underwater research station Aquarius Reef Base to study genetic differences in corals.[6] Her work on coral spawning in the Caribbean has shown how corals can initially take up a range of symbiont species which are then winnowed to a predictable subset of the available species.[7] She has also examined how coral symbionts are responding to climate change and increasing sea water temperatures.[8][9] She established a culture collection with Caribbean corals and octocorals, the BURR Culture Collection, which is used to examine the relationship between corals and their symbiotic algae.[10]
Selected publications
edit- Coffroth, Mary Alice; Santos, Scott R. (2005-06-17). "Genetic Diversity of Symbiotic Dinoflagellates in the Genus Symbiodinium". Protist. 156 (1): 19–34. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2005.02.004. ISSN 1434-4610. PMID 16048130.
- Shoguchi, Eiichi; Shinzato, Chuya; Kawashima, Takeshi; Gyoja, Fuki; Mungpakdee, Sutada; Koyanagi, Ryo; Takeuchi, Takeshi; Hisata, Kanako; Tanaka, Makiko; Fujiwara, Mayuki; Hamada, Mayuko; Seidi, Azadeh; Fujie, Manabu; Usami, Takeshi; Goto, Hiroki (2013-08-05). "Draft Assembly of the Symbiodinium minutum Nuclear Genome Reveals Dinoflagellate Gene Structure". Current Biology. 23 (15): 1399–1408. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.062. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 23850284. S2CID 7769853.
- Desalvo, M. K.; Voolstra, C. R.; Sunagawa, S.; Schwarz, J. A.; Stillman, J. H.; Coffroth, M. A.; Szmant, A. M.; Medina, M. (2008). "Differential gene expression during thermal stress and bleaching in the Caribbean coral Montastraea faveolata". Molecular Ecology. 17 (17): 3952–3971. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03879.x. PMID 18662230. S2CID 2082603.
- Botsford, L. W.; White, J. W.; Coffroth, M.- A.; Paris, C. B.; Planes, S.; Shearer, T. L.; Thorrold, S. R.; Jones, G. P. (2009). "Connectivity and resilience of coral reef metapopulations in marine protected areas: matching empirical efforts to predictive needs". Coral Reefs. 28 (2): 327–337. Bibcode:2009CorRe..28..327B. doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0466-z. ISSN 0722-4028. PMC 3402229. PMID 22833699.
References
edit- ^ a b "Mary Alice Coffroth | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Dr. Mary Alice Coffroth Home | Buffalo Undersea Reef Research". burr.bio.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Coffroth, Mary Alice (1988). "MUCOUS SHEET PRODUCTION BY PORITID CORALS". Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Coffroth, Mary Alice; Lasker, Howard R.; Diamond, Margaret E.; Bruenn, Jeremy A.; Bermingham, Eldredge (1992). "DNA fingerprints of a gorgonian coral: a method for detecting clonal structure in a vegetative species". Marine Biology. 114 (2): 317–325. doi:10.1007/BF00349534. ISSN 0025-3162. S2CID 84680077.
- ^ Coffroth, Ma; Santos, Sr; Goulet, Tl (2001). "Early ontogenetic expression of specificity in a cnidarian-algal symbiosis". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 222: 85–96. Bibcode:2001MEPS..222...85C. doi:10.3354/meps222085. ISSN 0171-8630.
- ^ Watson, Stephen (2002-05-28). "Coral reef study sends UB team into the depths". The Buffalo News. pp. [1], [2]. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Hillis, David M. (2012). Principles of Life. Macmillan. p. 404. ISBN 978-1-4292-5721-3.
- ^ Fountain, Henry (15 June 2004). "Observatory". The New York Times.
- ^ Singer, Siegfried Fred; Avery, Dennis T. (2007). Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7425-5117-6.
- ^ Braverman, Irus (2018-10-30). Coral Whisperers: Scientists on the Brink. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-97083-0.
External links
edit- Mary Alice Coffroth publications indexed by Google Scholar