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ABOUT
The Tomasetti Lab is thrilled to move to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the Fall of 2023! We are broadly interested in climate change and other anthropogenic drivers of biogeochemical and ecological change in coastal ecosystems.
Our primary goals:
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Understand the dynamics of and impacts to coastal marine systems under intensifying anthropogenic pressures.
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Strengthen coastal system-reliant communities through advancements in policy, restoration, conservation, and aquaculture.
We often focus on shellfish species and their habitats including: Argopecten irradians (bay scallops) in seagrass meadows, Callinectes sapidus (blue crabs) in estuaries, Crassostrea virginica (oysters) of natural and restored oyster reefs, and Placopecten magellanicus (sea scallops) in coastal shelf habitat.
We welcome and value students of all backgrounds. Continually, we strive as a group to foster an environment where no lab members feel like outsiders to a dominant culture, and where all lab members are empowered to learn, grow, and have their voices heard. Join us in our mission to create a more sustainable future for our coastal communities! If you're interested in joining our team, please reach out – we would love to hear from you.
For updates follow Dr. Tomasetti on twitter, Google Scholar, or ResearchGate.
11802 Marsh View Lane, Berlin, MD 21811 | sjtomasetti@umes.edu
RESEARCH
Global coastal change
Combustion of fossil fuels have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide to levels unprecedented in the era of modern humans and have led to rising temperatures and shifts in the biogeochemistry of the ocean. Against this backdrop of global climate change, the coastal zone—a point of convergence between the ocean, atmosphere, and continents—is also subject to regional pressures associated with urbanization, agriculture, and exploitation of natural resources. Our lab collates and contributes a wide array of coastal environmental and ecological monitoring data from the past and present. These datasets are essential to capture shifting biogeochemical patterns and to document the extreme events that punctuate the gradual trends under climate change. We consider environmental variability and organism responses in tandem in order to clarify important thresholds, as small shifts in the profiles of certain habitats can push individuals past physiological tipping points.
Shellfish, shellfish habitats, and shellfisheries
Shellfish resources have benefited coastal communities worldwide for centuries through their provision of nutrition and ecosystem services. For many shellfish species throughout history, exploitation and overfishing have led to population declines and collapses with cascading effects on coastal ecosystems. Our lab works to understand the relationships between shellfish species, their habitats, and overall ecosystem functioning. Our work spans from shallow estuaries to broad continental shelf systems and across ecologically-important habitats like seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, and salt marshes. We are interested in shellfish-derived ecosystem services such as water filtration, nutrient recycling, habitat provision, and shoreline stabilization, and we are committed to the sustainable use of shellfish resources.
Coastal restoration, aquaculture, and policy
We collaborate with community members to strengthen coastal system-reliant communities through data-driven restoration, conservation, aquaculture, and policy advancements. We work with stakeholders and policymakers to recognize the needs of the community and provide tools for decision-support. We also actively strive to increase coastal resilience to climate change and mitigate coastal impairment by optimizing restoration approaches and developing innovative shellfish and seaweed aquaculture-based solutions. In our lab group, members are encouraged to be creative and approach environmental challenges earnestly, using the tools of science to yield discoveries and work toward sustainable, equitable pathways forward.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS
January 10, 2023
Tomasetti, S.J., Hallinan, B.D., Tettelbach, S.T., Volkenborn, N., Doherty, O.W., Allam, B., Gobler, C.J. (2023). Warming and hypoxia reduce the performance and survival of northern bay scallops (Argopecten irradians irradians) amid a fishery collapse. Global Change Biology, 00, 1–16
August 30, 2022
CBS News story on our recent paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
August 30, 2022
Gobler, C.J., Doall, M.H., Peterson, B.J., Young, C.S., DeLaney, F., Wallace, R.B., Tomasetti, S.J., Curtin, T.P., Morrell, B.K., Lamoureux, E.M., Ueoka, B., Griffith, A.W., Carroll, J.M., Nanjappa, D., Jankowiak, J.G., Goleski, J.A., Famularo, A.E., Kang, Y., Pikitch, E.K., Santora, C., Heck, S.M., Cottrell, D.M., Chin, D.W., Kulp, R.E. 2022. Rebuilding a collapsed bivalve population, restoring seagrass meadows, and eradicating harmful algal blooms in a temperate lagoon using spawning sanctuaries. Front. Mar. Sci. 9, 11731.
August 22, 2022
Rodríguez-Villegas, C., Díaz, P.A., Salgado, P., Tomasetti, S.J., Marín, S.L., Díaz, M., Baldrich, A.M., Niklitschek, E., Pino, L., Matamala, T., Espinoza, K., Figueroa, R.I. 2022. The role of physico-chemical interactions in the seasonality of toxic dinoflagellate cyst assemblages: the case of the NW Patagonian Fjords System. Environ. Pollut. 311, 119901.
April 23, 2022
Young, C.S., Sylvers, L.H. Tomasetti, S.J., Lundstrom, A., Schenone, C., Doall, M. H., Gobler, C.J. 2022. Kelp (Saccharina latissima) mitigates coastal ocean acidification and increases growth of North Atlantic bivalves in lab experiments and on a oyster farm. Front. Mar. Sci. 9, 881254
September 29, 2021
The Provincetown Independent summarizes the outcomes of my Nickerson Conservation Fellowship research in the Cape Cod National Seashore.
August 20, 2021
Tomasetti, S. J., Kraemer, J.R., Gobler, C.J. 2021. Brief Episodes of Nocturnal Hypoxia and Acidification Reduce Survival of Economically Important Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Larvae. Front. Mar. Sci. 8, 1190.
April 27, 2021
Rodríguez-Villegas, C., Lee M. R., Salgado, P., Figueroa, R. I., Baldrich, A., Pérez-Santos, I., Tomasetti, S. J., Niklitschek, E., Díaz, M., Álvarez, G., Marín, S. L., Seguel, M., Farías, L., Díaz, P. A. 2021. Drivers of dinoflagellate benthic cyst assemblages in the NW Patagonian Fjords System and its adjacent oceanic shelf, with a focus on harmful species. Sci. Total Environ. 785, 147378.
April 21, 2021
Op-ed I wrote on shellfisheries and climate change in Newsday (paywall).
March 29, 2021
My involvement in the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Project is highlighted.
March 27, 2021
I, along with other researchers, discuss kelp farming and its potential to improve water quality.
March 23, 2021
Some of my dissertation work is featured by Stony Brook News.
December 18, 2020
I am interviewed by Ira Flatow, on NPR's Science Friday Podcast.
November 7, 2020
Interview by FOX 5 New York News about the 2020 bay scallop season in New York.
June 17, 2020
I discuss my work and a number of climate change-related questions on an expert panel hosted by Future Frogmen for World Oceans Week.
May 12, 2020
Our Science paper "Dissolved oxygen and pH criteria leave fisheries at risk" is discussed on KZYX, Medocino County's public and community radio
April 24, 2020
Tomasetti, S. J., Gobler, C. J. (2020). Dissolved oxygen and pH criteria leave fisheries at risk. Science, 368(6489), 372-373.
December 12, 2019
ABC News feature on my work with the "scallop fitbit".
November 9, 2019
Overview of the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP) and European Union's BONUS Integrated Carbon and Trace Gas Monitoring for the Baltic Sea (INTEGRAL) programs' biogeochemical sensor workshop in Kristineberg, Sweden that I was selected for and attended.
September 7, 2019
Interview with Long Island News 12 on Shinnecock Bay fish kill.
July 5, 2019
Fire Island News story covering my participation on a scientific panel discussing the integration of kelp aquaculture into existing oyster farms.
December 16, 2018
Newsday article highlighting our work.
December 7, 2018
Tomasetti, S. J., B.K. Morrell, B. K., Merlo, L.R., Gobler, C.J. (2018). Individual and combined effects of low dissolved oxygen and low pH on survival of early stage larval blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus. PLOS One, 13 (12) (2018), Article e0208629