Astrid Schnetzer
Bio
Research
My research interests focus on the ecology of microbial plankton and zooplankton which comprise numerous taxa and play diverse ecological roles within aquatic ecosystems. They include major primary producers (cyanobacteria, phytoplankton) and consumers (mixotrophic and heterotrophic protists) at the base of the food web. Multicellular zooplankton (copepods, euphausiids) are important consumers of protists (and each other) and in turn preyed upon by shellfish, fish and marine mammals. The Plankton Ecology Lab addresses how varying natural and anthropogenic processes shape plankton assemblages and how changes in protistan and/or zooplankton community structure impact biogeochemical cycles in coastal and open ocean environments. Current projects focus on NC coastal waters, the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico.
I also serve as the Director of the NC Center for Coastal Algae, People and Environment, a NSF and NIEHS-funded Ocean Human Health Center that combines 9 Principal Investigators across 5 NC State colleges with multidisciplinary expertise in ocean and climate science, toxicology, epidemiology, modeling, and community engagement to understand, predict, and reduce risks to human health from cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in coastal waters.
Teaching
I currently teach undergraduate and graduate classes in Biological Oceanography (MEA449/549), Introduction to Coastal Environments Laboratory (MEA251) and am one of several instructors for the MEAS’ summer course on Field-Investigations of Coastal Processes (MEA459).
Publications
- Assessing the effects of warming and carbonate chemistry parameters on marine microbes in the Gulf of Mexico through basin-scale DNA metabarcoding , (2024)
- Evaluating Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) for passive monitoring of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry (IMS-MS) , SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT (2024)
- Innovating Environmentally Sustainable Materials Platforms by Harnessing Coastal Marine Tunicates , CHEMSUSCHEM (2024)
- Shifting power: data democracy in engineering solutions , ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS (2024)
- Co-occurrence of freshwater and marine phycotoxins: A record of microcystins and domoic acid in Bogue Sound, North Carolina (2015 to 2020) , HARMFUL ALGAE (2023)
- Comparison of advanced methodologies for diatom identification within dynamic coastal communities , LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY-METHODS (2023)
- Microcystin Concentrations, Partitioning, and Structural Composition during Active Growth and Decline: A Laboratory Study , TOXINS (2023)
- Uncovering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with nontargeted ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry analyses , SCIENCE ADVANCES (2023)
- A general pattern of trade-offs between ecosystem resistance and resilience to tropical cyclones , SCIENCE ADVANCES (2022)
- Grazing of a heterotrophic nanoflagellate on prokaryote and eukaryote prey: ingestion rates and gross growth efficiency , MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES (2021)