Marc Frischer (left) and Gustav Paffenhöfer (below right), along with Deidre Gibson from Hampton University, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study doliolds on the South Atlantic Bight continental shelf.

Doliolids are a species of gelatinous zooplankton and are one of the most poorly understood inhabitants of our continental shelf waters. However, observations of their global abundance on the continental shelves suggest that they have the potential to greatly influence the biology of our oceans, particularly on the world’s continental shelves. The research will focus on determining what doliolids eat: who eats doliolids: and the processes that control their populations.

The research will combine novel state-of-the art molecular methods with proven oceanographic techniques and will provide research training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, particularly students from underrepresented groups from Savannah State University and Hampton University.

The project will rely heavily on the use of the UNOLS research vessel the R/V Savannah and involve active partnerships with colleagues in Scandinavia. The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will receive $608,820 to conduct the three-year research project starting in January 2009.