Joseph A. Covi

Joseph A. Covi, Ph.D., joined the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at UNCW in 2012 and is the Principal Investigator in what his students have named the "Zoop Lab". The seed for Dr. Covi's research program were planted during his first major undergraduate research experience studying insect biodiversity in and around high mountain lakes of the Colorado Rockies. His interests broadened to include decapod crustaceans while working in the lab of Dr. Donald Mykles at Colorado State University. Dr. Covi then studied an extreme state of dormancy in brine shrimp embryos while completing his Ph.D. degree under Dr. Steven Hand at Louisiana State University. He returned to Colorado State University as a Postdoctoral Fellow to study endocrine (hormonal) control of physiological processes in molting decapods under Dr. Donald Mykles. There he learned how to manage a very large research lab focused on both undergraduate and graduate training. That large student-centered model is one he continues to use in his research lab today at UNCW. Dr. Covi's research program has taken him and his students all over the world, including to Patagonia and Antarctica.

Education

B.S. in Biology and Zoology, Colorado State University.
Ph.D. in Zoology, Louisiana State University.

Specialization in Teaching

Principles of Biology: Cells (BIO201/BIOL201)
Animal Physiology (BIO345/BIOL345)
Human Anatomy and Physiology (BIO241)
Endocrinology: Hormone Biology (BIO459)
Senior Seminar in Neurodegeneration (BIO495)
Senior Seminar in Adaptations to Extreme Environments (BIO495)

Research Interests

Dr. Covi's research interested are led by questions, not organisms, methods, or historical training. He is an integrative and comparative animal physiologist by training, but his question-based approach has taken him into the fields of toxicology, ecology, water resource management, anthropogenic impacts on aquatic environments, and K-12 education. Dr. Covi is particularly attracted to challenging questions that require a patient integrative approach to answer. Currently, Dr. Covi's lab is largely focused on increasing awareness and understanding of crustacean vulnerability to anthropogenic influence. Using an integrative experimental approach allows members of Dr. Covi's lab to assess the effects of environmental variables on communities and individuals without being tied down to a specific environment, organism, level of organization, experimental technique, or anthropogenic stressor. Students in Dr. Covi's lab use an ever-changing set of experimental tools in their work with DNA, RNA, protein, cultured tissues, whole animals, and field sites. The environment, organisms, level of organization, and tools Dr. Covi's group uses are dictated solely by the experimental question.

Current Projects:
1. Interaction between zooplankton and cyanobacteria in eutrophic lakes
2. Mechanisms of defense against microbial attack during prolonged dormancy in zooplankton
3. Methods development for improved toxicology assays with zooplankton
4. Impacts of resource management decisions on dormant zooplankton
5. Achievement of state and federal standards for ecology in K-12 classrooms

Professional Service

Editor for Scientific Reports
Editor for Frontiers in Marine Science
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Education Council member
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Symposium Organizer

Community Engagement

Judge for local, regional, and state science fairs (2012 - present; almost every year)
Ecology education program - 5th grade outreach program (2025 - present)
PhUn Week leader for American Physiological Society - 5th grade exercise science outreach program (2008 - 2018; resuming in 2027)

Honors & Awards

2025, Inducted into the National Academy of Inventors, Senior Member
2019-2020, Discere Aude Award for significant achievement in student mentoring, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
2008-2009, Excellence in Mentoring of Undergraduate Research Award, Biology Department, Colorado State University