Spring brings many things to the Tallahassee area – gorgeous blooms, mild weather, and Florida State University’s commencement weekend! Two exceptional students, Aaron Ridall, now newly minted as Dr. Ridall, and Armando Barsante Santos, also newly minted as Dr. Barsante Santos, have successfully defended their doctoral dissertations and will walk the stage this weekend! The FSUCML is so proud of Aaron and Armando, and we cannot wait to watch them continue to have a positive impact on the future of marine science. Congratulations, Aaron, and Armando!

Resource managers and policymakers need robust data about marine ecosystems for decision-making and setting sound policies. However, data about marine life can be challenging to collect, integrate, and analyze. Invertebrate animals are a key component of life on the seafloor, but their wide range of body sizes and diversity make it especially difficult to understand their abundance and distribution.

Current graduate student Aaron Ridall, FSU Dept of Biology undergraduate Emily Farrar, former FSU Dept of Biology undergraduate Morgan Dansby, and FSUCML faculty member Dr. Jeroen Ingels, recently published their work on the influence of wastewater treatment plants and water input sources on size, shape, and polymer distributions of microplastics in St. Andrew Bay, Florida, USA.

Katherine Henning, a research assistant in Dr. Jeroen Ingels’ Meiolab at the FSUCML, was awarded an IDEA grant by Florida State University to take sediment samples from the Fenholloway and the Econfina rivers this summer. These samples are necessary to continue monitoring the health of the Fenholloway after the Cellulose Mill in Perry, FL relocated its wastewater pipeline to a location closer to the coast.

Ph.D. student Aaron Ridall has published his first paper in Frontiers in Marine Science journal!! Co-authored by advisor, Dr. Jeroen Ingels, they focused on the role of nematodes as bioindicators across the globe and identified the patchiness regarding their use. They also highlighted future directions they’d like to see addressed in the field of marine nematology with a special emphasis on understanding nematodes' responses to microplastics pollution.

FSU Ph.D. Candidate Ian Silver-Gorges and faculty member Dr. Jeroen Ingles have published a new study following their interest on the small animals that live on turtle carapaces. After examining what they are and how they get there, the authors were interested in discovering if these organisms can tell them anything about the turtle they are travelling with. Insights surrounding this new question are reflected in their latest paper: Epibionts Reflect Spatial and Foraging Ecology of Gulf of Mexico Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta).

Dr. Jeroen Ingels contributes to the United Nations' Second World Ocean Assessment, leading the chapter on "Abyssal Plains" and contributing to Levin et al. “Continental Slopes and Submarine Canyons”. Check out the assessment and global launch!

Dr. Jeroen Ingels is editor and featured author in the new issue of Frontiers “Extreme Benthic Communities in the Age of Global Change.”

Dr. Ingels has spearheaded a new article in Nature Ecology and Evolution on the importance of including meiofauna and microbiota in deep-sea monitoring for effective conservation. "Undervaluing the contribution of microscopic organisms to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and their efficacy in early detection of change, would hamper effective management of deep-sea ecosystems." - Jeroen Ingels

The Scientist spoke with Jeroen Ingels, a marine ecologist at Florida State University and the lead author of the new study, about the most pressing takeaways from the team’s findings.