Deborah K. Steinberg

Research Interests

Current Projects

Selected Publications

Students

Courses

Awards

Professional Memberships

Collaborative Efforts

Zooplankton Ecology Website

Research Interests

My research interests are in zooplankton ecology and physiology, coastal and deep-sea food webs, nutrient cycling, and marine detritus ("marine snow"). Much of my current focus is how zooplankton community structure affects flux of organic material and cycling of nutrients in the sea. Our laboratory is involved in a number of projects with this theme, including the role of zooplankton vertical migration in transport of nutrients, the ecology of gelatinous zooplankton "blooms" and their affect on fluxes of organic matter, the importance of zooplankton in the cycling of dissolved organic matter, mesopelagic zooplankton and particle flux, and effects of mesoscale eddies on zooplankton community structure. I have worked in a number of marine environments including coastal California, the Antarctic, Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea, the subtropical and North Pacific, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Current Projects

• Carbon flux through the twilight zone- new tools to measure change (NSF OCE)
• Quantification and modeling of DOC and DON release in marine systems: A study of increasing trophic complexity (NSF OCE)
• Vertical Transport in the Global Ocean (VERTIGO) (NSF OCE, DOE)
• Impacts of Eddies on Zooplankton Community Structure and Biogeochemical cycling in the Open Ocean, (NSF OCE)
• Development of an operational model for predicting the near real time distribution and abundance of the schyphomedusa, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, (NOAA subaward)

Selected Publications (click for extended list)

• Steinberg, D.K., N.B. Nelson, C.A. Carlson, and A. Prusak. 2004. Production of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in the open ocean by zooplankton and the colonial cyanobacterium Trichodesmium spp. Marine Ecology Progress Series 267: 45-56.
• Steinberg, D.K., S.A. Goldthwait, and D.A. Hansell. 2002. Zooplankton vertical migration and the active transport of dissolved organic and inorganic nitrogen in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Research I 49: 1445-1461.
• Steinberg, D.K., C.A. Carlson, N.R. Bates, R.J. Johnson, A.F. Michaels, and A.F. Knap. 2001. Overview of the U.S. JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS): A decade-scale look at ocean biology and biogeochemistry. Deep-Sea Research II. 48: 1405-1447
• Madin, LP., E.F. Horgan, D.K. Steinberg. 2001. Zooplankton at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station: Seasonal and interannual variation in biomass 1994-1998. Deep-Sea Research II. 48: 2063-2082.
• Ducklow, H.W., D.K. Steinberg, K.O. Buesseler 2001. Upper ocean carbon export and the biological pump. Oceanography 14 (4): 50-58.
• Steinberg, D.K., C.A. Carlson, N.R. Bates, S.A. Goldthwait, L.P. Madin, and A.F. Michaels. 2000. Zooplankton vertical migration and the active transport of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res. I 47: 137-158.
• Steinberg, D.K., M.W. Silver, and C.H. Pilskaln. 1997. The role of mesopelagic zooplankton in the community metabolism of giant larvacean house detritus in Monterey Bay, California, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 147: 167-179.
• Steinberg, D.K., M.W. Silver, S.L. Coale, C.H. Pilskaln, and J. Paduan. 1994. Midwater zooplankton communities on pelagic detritus (giant larvacean houses) in Monterey Bay, California. Limnology and Oceanography 39(7): 1606-1620.

Students and Post-doctoral Associates

• Rob Condon, Ph.D. Student, Gelatinous zooplankton DOM cycling and effects on bacteria
• Bethany Eden, M.S. student, Mesoscale eddies and zooplankton community structure
• Grace Henderson, Ph.D. Student, DOM cycling by meso- and microzooplankton
• Stephanie Wilson, Ph.D. Student, Mesopelagic zooplankton and particle flux

• Astrid Schnetzer, Ph.D. awarded 2001, (University of Austria, Vienna), Zooplankton vertical migration and POM transport in the Sargasso Sea.

• Dr. Sarah Goldthwait, Zooplankton and biogeochemical cycling in mesoscale eddies

Courses Taught

• MSCI 501: Fundamentals of Marine Science, Biological Oceanography
• MSCI 652: Marine Plankton Ecology, with Hugh Ducklow
• MSCI 660: Zooplankton Ecology, with Kam Tang
• MSCI 698: Special Topics - Dissolved Organic Matter in Aquatic Systems, with Deborah Bronk
• MSCI 698: Special Topics - Respiration in Aquatic Ecosystems, with Elizabeth Canuel

Faculty Awards

• 2006 - Dean's Prize for Advancement of Women in Marine Science
• 2005 - College of William & Mary Term Distinguished Professor of Marine Science
• 2005 - Elected to the Board of Trustees, Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc.
• 2004 - Program mentor, DIALOG (Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Limnology and Oceanography) program
• 2001 - Elected Secretary, Ocean Sciences section, American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• 1987 - National Science Foundation Antarctic Service Award

Professional Memberships

• American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
• The Oceanography Society (TOS)
• American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Efforts

• Panel member, International Council of Scientific Unions, Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR)
• Sargasso Sea Ocean Observatory (S2O2) A consortium of researchers from many institutions
• Current research projects listed above are all collaborative and interdisciplinary