The Planet Ocean Seminar Series is free and open to the public. Seminars are currently run as both in-person and virtual events, so registration is required. Once you register to attend virtually, you will receive the link to join the webinar. For further information, please call the UNCW Center for Marine Science at 910.962.2408.
2022-2023 Series
Apr. 18, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
Conservation in a Changing Climate:
Impacts on Seagrass Resiliency and Restoration
with Drs. Jessie Jarvis and Stephanie Kamel
Jessie Jarvis is an associate professor in the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Biology & Marine Biology Department. Jarvis is a coastal plant ecologist interested in underwater grasses, also known as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Her research examines the connections between environmental factors and seagrass ecosystems health and resiliency. Jarvis attained her Ph.D. from Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, VA.
Stephanie Kamel is an associate professor and serves as the graduate program coordinator in the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Biology & Marine Biology Department. As a biologist, Kamel’s research focuses on characterizing the genetic composition and trait distribution in groups of interacting conspecifics. Determining what aspects of intraspecific diversity most closely predict population success offers practical guidance to management and restoration efforts in the face of contemporary anthropogenic change to marine coastal habitats. Kamel earned her Ph.D. in Evolution and Ecology from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Feb. 7, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
The Climate Crisis: Where We Are, What We Can Do
with Dr. Maureen Raymo
Maureen Raymo’s research focuses on the history and causes of climate change in the past, including understanding the consequences of climate change for sea level and ice sheet stability in the future. Her research has been profiled in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, U.S. News and World Report, Discover Magazine, and elsewhere, and has been the subject of both a PBS Nova and BBC Horizon television documentary. Professor Raymo has spent many months at sea and in the field studying how the Earth works, leading or participating in numerous scientific expeditions. A fellow of the National Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and The Explorer’s Club, in 2014 she became the first woman to be awarded the Wollaston Medal, the Geological Society of London’s most senior medal previously award to Charles Lyell, Louis Agassiz and Charles Darwin. In 2019, she was awarded the AGU and US Navy’s Maurice Ewing Medal “for significant original contributions to the ocean sciences.”
Nov. 15, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
Ten Things I Learned from Studying the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill for a Decade
with Dr. Steven A. Murawski
Recorded seminar
Steven A. Murawski is a fishery biologist specializing in population and ecosystem dynamics. He has 45+ years of professional experience in both government and academia. Murawski worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for 35 years, last serving as the Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor for the National Marine Fisheries Service. Murawski was a principal scientific advisor to the US government during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Subsequently he has been actively involved in assessing the long-term environmental impacts of the spill, and its implications for responding to future spills in the Gulf of Mexico and globally.
Sept. 13, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
A Tale of Two Brothers: Art Meets Science in the Open Sea
with Dr. Sönke Johnsen
Recorded seminar
Originally trained in mathematics and art, Sönke Johnsen has studied optics in biology for the last 32 years, the last 21 of which have been at Duke University. He is particularly interested in vision, signaling, and camouflage in the open ocean, but has also worked on coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial species, animal navigation, nocturnal vision, and human cataracts. His research combines mathematical analyses with behavioral and morphological studies and in situ measurements and imagery. His field work primarily involves open-ocean research cruises that use SCUBA, and deep-sea manned and robotic submersibles, and other imaging and collecting platforms. In addition to exploring the evolution and diversity of the optical and visual tricks that animals perform, Professor Johnsen is interested in improving communication between theoretical and experimental scientists, biologists and physicists, and scientists and artists. Outreach is a strong focus, and Johnsen’s research has been featured in many traditional media outlets, but also in Finding Nemo, The Magic Treehouse book series, the poetry of John Updike, the humor of Dave Barry, and most recently in Ed Yong’s An Immense World. Professor Johnsen has also written two books, The Optics of Life and Visual Ecology, and is currently completing a third on ocean life for a public audience. In his spare time, he is an avid nature photographer and amateur farmer.
