Dr. Diana Lopez was recently awarded a six-month Fulbright fellowship to conduct research on coral ecophysiology in Colombia! A dual citizen of the USA and Colombia, Dr. Lopez will travel to Gorgona Island (a former prison..) to study the response of coral photophysiology and endosymbiont composition to dynamic changes in environmental conditions. Congrats Diana! Photos coming soon….
Two PhD students join the lab at Berkeley for fall 2024!
Two new students, Olivia Ruffins (currently a lab manager in the Williams lab) and Grace Westphal (finishing a masters at Florida State with Dan and Tara Stewart-Merrill) are joining Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley as PhD students in fall 2024!
Grace was awarded a Berkeley Fellowship and honorable mention for the GRFP!
Meanwhile, Olivia was awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship.
These fellowships and awards are highly competitive and are a testament to these outstanding students. Welcome Olivia and Grace!!
The Okamoto Lab is moving to UC Berkeley
We are moving! Starting Jan 2024, we will be relocating to the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley as a result of a search focused on Global Change Biology. Stay tuned for advertisements for various positions in the lab!
Nate Spindel is moving to Moss Landing for a post-doc!
Nate Spindel, the first PhD student in the Okamoto lab has accepted a post-doc to work with Dr. Scott Hamilton at Moss Landing starting in August. Congrats Nate! We can’t wait to see what you get up to next!
PhD student Donaven Baughman wins NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP)!
PhD student Donaven Baughman (co-supervised with Joel Trexler) was awarded the NSF GRFP in 2023 to work on how predators and abiotic conditions shape survival and physiology of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in Apalachicola Bay. Huge congrats to Donaven!
Several new fellowships awarded in the lab!
Incoming PhD student Grace Westphal, co-supervised by Dr. Tara Stewart-Merrill, was a awarded a prestigious FSU Legacy Fellowship that will carry her through five years at FSU!
Post-Doc Dr. Diana P. López was awarded a Provost’s Post Doctoral Fellowship at FSU, that will provide two more years of salary and research funds to continue her work at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
PI Okamoto was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation to work on abalone management plans in Haida Gwaii that consider climate change, predator recovery, and Indigenous harvests.
Spindel and Schumm awarded Smithsonian Fellowships for 2021/2022!
Both Nate Spindel and Matthew Schumm were awarded Smithsonian fellowships to further their research. Nate was awarded a prestigious, one-year Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellowship. He will spend much of 2022 in Panama with lab collaborator Dr. David Kline and colleagues at STRI conducting work focused on how upwelling and temperature affect herbivore metabolic demands, algal productivity, and interactions among those groups along an upwelling gradient. Matthew was awarded a Smithsonian Graduate Fellowship and will use museum collections to assess shifts in trophic level in fished species.
Congrats Nate and Matthew!
NSF funded PhD & Post-Doctoral opportunities in population effects of ocean warming at Florida State University and Bodega Marine Lab
An NSF collaboration w/ UC Davis, CA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife & UCSB
Update: These positons have been filled.
The Department of Biological Sciences at Florida State University invites applications for funded post-doctoral and PhD student positions to help conduct experiments, fieldwork, labwork and/or modeling with Dr. Dan Okamoto. Research will focus on how sea urchins respond to climate change with a focus on bioenergetics and metabolism, reproduction (including fertilization, larval viability), gene expression/ecological genetics, larval dispersal, and/or recruitment. Research will take place at the Bodega Marine Lab and other settings in California and along the eastern Pacific as part of a collaborative NSF funded project.
Required qualifications: Post-doctoral applicants must have demonstrated skills in experimental ecology, ecological genetics, invertebrate reproduction, larval biology, and/or empirical application of bioenergetics models (e.g. dynamic energy budget models) and a strong publication record. PhD applicants should have interest and experience in one or more of these topics.
About the opportunities
Extreme warming events such as marine heatwaves and El Niño have had devastating impacts on marine ecosystems. Yet for many species, how these events mechanistically affect properties that control population collapses often remain understudied. For purple sea urchins, the impacts of warming are enormous because larval recruitment and reproduction are temperature dependent, explosion and collapses in purple urchin population are linked to larval supply, and proliferation of this species can devastate kelp nearshore ecosystems. A new NSF grant, led by PI Okamoto, is funded to investigate how warming affects purple urchin reproduction, bioenergetics, and larval supply and transport in California both experimentally at the Bodega Marine Laboratory and through a mechanistic spatial modeling framework.
The researchers will work directly with other project leads Dr. Laura Rogers-Bennett (Bodega Marine Lab and CDFW), Dr. Rachel Simons (UCSB), Dr. Jonathan Dennis (FSU) and Dr. Steve Schroeter (UCSB). Applicants may also have the opportunity to conduct research in collaboration with the Hakai Institute, Santa Barbara Coastal LTER, and/or Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Read more about the project from the FSU news release and at the NSF website.
Prospective candidates should send the following to Dan Okamoto at dokamoto@bio.fsu.edu:
Prospective graduate students should include a CV and a short introduction in the email in addition to any questions about the position. PhD applications are due to the graduate program Dec. 1, 2020 for priority review and Jan 30 at the very latest. Students should send inquiries well in advance of these application deadlines.
Prospective post-docs should submit an application package including CV, list of at least three references, and a cover letter outlining qualifications, career objectives, and research accomplishments. Minimum salaries and post-doc support at FSU are documented here. Review of applications will begin October 30, 2020 and the call will remain open until filled.
We especially encourage applicants identifying as Indigenous or underrepresented minority for both positions. Florida State University is an equal opportunity employer and educational provider committed to a policy of non-discrimination for any member of the University’s community on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veterans’ status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other legally protected group status.
Seeking a post-doc!
Post-Doctoral Opportunity in Fisheries and Ecosystem Modeling in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
A collaboration with FSU, Council of Haida Nation, Parks Canada, Dalhousie University and many project partners.
UPDATE: This position has now been filled by Dr. Christian Commander. Welcome Christian!
The Department of Biological Sciences at Florida State University invites applications for a post-doctoral researcher to construct and analyze multispecies population models for Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site and throughout coastal Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada, with Dr. Dan Okamoto.
Required qualifications: Applicants must have demonstrated skills in quantitative fisheries science, computer programming, ecosystem modeling, bioenergetics models, and/or ecological modeling.
About the opportunity
Extirpation of sea otters nearly two centuries ago allowed sea urchins to proliferate in northern British Columbia, leading to dramatic decline of kelp forests in the region yet facilitated thriving indigenous and commercial fisheries for sea cucumbers, crustaceans, bivalves and mollusks. As sea otters recover, new quantitative tools are required to help facilitate resource management decision-making. The researcher will be expected to lead their own studies and work collaboratively to develop and analyze models. As the COVID-19 situation permits, the candidate will travel to Haida Gwaii and British Columbia for extended periods to work with management agencies and community members as well as participate in workshops to collaborate with experts from other universities, communities and government agencies. The researcher will also work directly with other project leads Dr. Lynn Lee (Gwaii Haanas), Dr. Tim Tinker (Dalhousie) and Ms. Vanessa Bellis (Haida Fisheries), as well as the Integrated Fisheries Lab (Dalhousie) and the broad network of project team members.
For prospective candidates
- Interested applicants should contact Dan Okamoto at dokamoto@bio.fsu.edu and include a CV and a short description of your professional/research interests, relevant experience, why this opportunity is of interest, and any questions about the position.
- A PhD in quantitative fisheries science, applied statistics, or ecological modeling is required, with preference for candidates with experience with numerical population models, management strategy evaluation, ecological modeling, or working with agencies and communities.
- Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and funded for 24 months.
- Working remotely is welcome and encouraged!
- FSU is an equal opportunity employer and underrepresented and minority groups are encouraged to apply.
Photo Credits (top right – Stef Olcen, DFO, top left, bottom left, bottom right – L. Lee, Gwaii Haanas)
Nate Spindel awarded William & Lenore Mote Graduate Summer Research Assistantship and the AUAS Zale Perry Scholarship!
Nate Spindel was recently awarded both the William & Lenore Mote Graduate Summer Research Assistantship (read about the Mote family and their endowment here – https://www.bio.fsu.edu/mote/) and the AUAS Zale Perry Scholarship.
Congrats Nate!
The Okamoto Lab 