Supported Students
Student Research Funded by CMI
Each year, a part of the funding from the University of Alaska Coastal Marine Institute supports graduate students conducting important research under the supervision of CMI project principal investigators. This funding supports the training of tomorrow's scientists, while at the same time furthering research projects that meet CMI's priorities.
The information below includes our current CMI-supported students and those who have graduated.
Graduate Student Initiative Awards
2022
Sydney Wilkinson (PhD Marine Biology)
Resource use by Arctic fishes along Beaufort Sea coastal lagoons
Hannah Myers (MS Marine Biology)
Passive acoustic monitoring of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the northern Gulf of
Alaska
Sonia Kumar (MS Marine Biology)
Comparison of Cook Inlet beluga acoustic presence in critical foraging habitat between
years of reduced commercial salmon fishing zones
2021
Sonia Kumar (MS Marine Biology)
The acoustics of Cook Inlet beluga whales and anthropogenic noise in lower Cook Inlet
rivers
Lindsey Stadler (MS Marine Biology)
Feeding ecology of nearshore fishes along a gradient of glacially influenced watersheds
in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet
2020
Elizabeth Hasan (MS Marine Biology)
Subtidal habitat mapping in the Cook Inlet Lease Area for current and predictive sea
otter habitat associations
Brian Ulaski (MS Marine Biology)
Potential impacts on the ecological role of seaweed wrack in the event of an oil spill
2019
Jenell Larsen-Tempel (PhD Student)
Life without ice: climate change and the subsistence communities of St. Lawrence Island
2018
Zane Chapman (MS student)
Identifying Arctic cod hatch dates and locations in the Alaskan Arctic
Chris Guo (MS student)
The influence of water flow in structuring subtidal estuary communities in Cook Inlet,
Alaska
2017
Casey Clark (PhD Student)
Using trace elements in Pacific walrus teeth to track the impacts of petroleum production
in the Alaskan Arctic
Amanda Blackburn (MS Student)
Benthic habitat mapping in eastern Cook Inlet to investigate a potential “predator
pit” relationship between Tanner crab and Pacific cod
Lauren Sutton (MS Student)
Functional diversity of epibenthic communities on the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea shelves
2016
Yang Yang (PhD Student)
Changes in Beaufort–Chukchi Sea intense storm activity and impacts on surface climate
and ocean properties
Genevieve Johnson (MS Student)
Using genotyping by sequencing population genetics approaches to determine the population
structure of Tanner crab in Alaska
Alexis Walker (PhD Student)
Characterizing bacterial communities in Beaufort Sea sediments in a changing Arctic
Current CMI Projects Supporting Students
Identifying sources of organic matter to benthic organisms in the Beaufort and Chukchi
outer continental shelves
Principal investigators: Katrin Iken, Matthew Wooller
Student: Audrey Rowe (MS Student)
Nearshore food web structure on the OCS in Cook Inlet
Principal investigators: Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar
Student: Danielle Siegert (MS Student)
Microbial biodegradation of Alaska North Slope crude oil in the Arctic marine environment
Principal investigator: Mary Beth Leigh
Student: Taylor Gofstein (PhD Student)
Ann Riddle-Berntsen, PhD Marine Biology
Sensitivity to Hydrocarbons and Baselines of Exposure in Marine Birds on the Chukchi
and Beaufort Seas
Tuula Hollmen, principal investigator
M13AC00005
Marc Oggier, PhD Geophysics
Crude oil infiltration and movement in first-year sea ice: Impacts on ice-associated
biota and physical constraints.
Eric Collins, principal investigator
M14AC00015
John Perreault, MS Geology
Evaluating Chukchi Sea Trace Metals and Hydrocarbons Sourced from Nearby Coastal Rivers»»»»»»
Paul McCarthy, principal investigator
M12AC00001
Matt Perkins, PhD (OSU) Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Fate and persistence of oil spill response chemicals in Arctic Seawater
Mary Beth Leigh, principal investigator
M15AC00008
Kyle Dilliplaine, M.S. Marine Biology
Crude oil infiltration and movement in first-year sea ice: Impacts on ice-associated
biota and physical constraints.
Eric Collins, principal investigator
M14AC00015
Kelly McFarlin, Ph.D. Biological Sciences
Matt Perkins, Ph.D. (OSU) Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Fate and persistence of oil spill response chemicals in Arctic Seawater
Mary Beth Leigh, principal investigator
M15AC00008
Alexandra Ravelo, Ph.D. Marine Biology
Epifaunal communities in the central Beaufort Sea»
Brenda Konar, principal investigator
M11AC00002
Michael Courtney, M.S. Fisheries
Dispersal Patterns and Summer Ocean Distribution of Adult Dolly Varden from the Wulik
River, Alaska, Evaluated using Satellite Telemetry»»
Andy Seitz, principal investigator
M12AC00006
Anna Iverson, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Priyamvada Sharma, MS Environmental Engineering
Biodegradation and transport of crude oil in sand and gravel beaches of arctic Alaska
Silke Schiewer, principal investigator
M14AC00020
Jessica Glass, M.S. Fisheries
Project support:
Analysis of Benthic Communities on Weathervane Scallop Beds in Shelikof Strait
Gordon Kruse, principal investigator
M13AC00004
Jessica Cross, Ph.D. Chemical Oceanography
Project support:
Biogeochemical Assessment of the OCS Arctic Waters
Jeremy Mathis, principal investigator
M08AX12760
Audrey Taylor, Ph.D. Biology and Wildlife
Project support:
Pre-migratory Movements and Physiology of Shorebirds Staging on Alaska's North Slope
Abby Powell, principal investigator
TO 35289; 2004-2008
Stacia A. Backensto, Ph.D. Interdisciplinary
Project support:
Foraging ecology of common ravens (Corvus corax) on Alaska's coastal plain
Abby N. Powell, principal investigator
TO 85294; 2003-2006
Rebecca A. McGuire, Ph.D. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
Breeding biology and habitat use of king eiders on the coastal plain of northern Alaska
Abby N. Powell and Robert S. Suydam, principal investigators
TO 85240; 2002-2005
Jeremy Kasper, Ph.D. Physical Oceanography
Project support
Idealized Modeling of Circulation Under Landfast Ice
Tom Weingartner, principal investigator
TO 39953; 2002-2005
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Ph.D. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
Population structure of common eiders nesting on coastal barrier islands adjacent
to oil facilities in the Beaufort Sea
Kevin G. McCracken, principal investigator
TO 85239; 2002-2005
Casey W. Debenham, M.S. Marine Biology
Project support»» »
Role of grazers on the re-colonization of hard-bottom communities in the Alaska Beaufort
Sea
Brenda Konar, principal investigator
TO 85244; 2002-2005
Laura M. Phillips, M.S. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
Importance of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea to king eiders (Somateria spectabilis)
Abby N. Powell, principal investigator
TO 15182; 2001-2004
Sherri C. Dressel, Ph.D. Fisheries Oceanography
Project support
*Recruitment of juvenile flatfishes in Alaska
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 18445; 1993-1994
*Juvenile flatfish habitat in Kachemak Bay: A pilot study
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 11988; 1994-1995
*Defining habitats for juvenile flatfishes in south central Alaska
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 12041; 1995-1998
Michael J. Knoche, M.S. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
King and common eider migrations past Point Barrow
Lori T. Quakenbush, principal investigator
TO 85241; 2002-2006
Deborah A. Rocque, Ph.D. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
Seabird samples as resources for marine environmental assessment
Kevin Winker, principal investigator
TO 15173; 1999-2002
Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D. Chemical Oceanography
Project support
A study of the adsorption of aromatic hydrocarbons by marine sediments
Susan M. Henrichs, principal investigator
TO 11981; 1994-1996
John A. Terschak, Ph.D. Chemical Oceanography
Project support
*Interaction between marine humic matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lower
Cook Inlet and Port Valdez, Alaska
David G. Shaw, principal investigator
TO 12039; 1995-1997
*Kinetics and mechanisms of slow PAH desorption from lower Cook Inlet and Beaufort
Sea sediments
Susan M. Henrichs, principal investigator
TO 15170; 1999-2001
Switgard Duesterloh, Ph.D. Fisheries
Project support
The role of zooplankton in the distribution of hydrocarbon
Thomas C. Shirley, principal investigator
TO 15171; 1999-2003
Kathleen A. Gannon, M.S. Environmental Chemistry
Project support
Petroleum hydrocarbon degrading microbial communities in Beaufort Sea sediments
Joan F. Braddock and Jon E. Lindstrom, principal investigators
TO 15175; 1999-2003
Charles D. Hamel, M.S. Resource Economics
Project support
An economic assessment of the marine sport fisheries for halibut, and chinook and
coho salmon in lower Cook Inlet
Keith R. Criddle, Mark Herrmann, S. Todd Lee, Charles Hamel, Hans T. Geier, Joshua
A. Greenberg, and Carol E. Lewis, principal investigators
TO 15181; 1997-2000
Amy M. Runck, M.S. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
*The Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection and associated electronic database: A resource
for marine biotechnology, Phase I
Joseph A. Cook and Gordon H. Jarrell, principal investigators
TO 12040; 1995-1998
*The Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection and associated electronic database: A resource
for marine biotechnology, Phase II
Joseph A. Cook and Gordon H. Jarrell, principal investigators
TO 15164; 1998-2001
Bruce C. McIntosh, M.S. Fisheries
Project support
Feeding ecology of maturing sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in nearshore waters
of the Kodiak Archipelago
Albert V. Tyler and Charles O. Swanton, principal investigators
TO 15160; 1998-2000
Amy C. Hirons, Ph.D. Biological Oceanography
Project support
Testing conceptual models of marine mammal trophic dynamics using carbon and nitrogen
stable isotope ratios
Donald M. Schell, principal investigator
TO 11985; 1993-1997
Michael A. Simpkins, Ph.D. Marine Biology
Project support
Correction factors for ringed seal surveys in northern Alaska
Brendan P. Kelly and Lori T. Quakenbush, principal investigators
TO 15162; 1998-2001
John S. Chythlook, M.S. Biology
Project support
*The Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection and associated electronic database: A resource
for marine biotechnology, Phase I
Joseph A. Cook and Gordon H. Jarrell, principal investigators
TO 12040; 1995-1998
*The Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection and associated electronic database: A resource
for marine biotechnology, Phase II
Joseph A. Cook and Gordon H. Jarrell, principal investigators
TO 15164; 1998-2001
Jennifer L. Trask, M.S. Marine Biology
Project support
Kachemak Bay experimental and monitoring studies
Raymond C. Highsmith, principal investigator
TO 11982; 1994-1997
Alisa A. Abookire, M.S. Fisheries Oceanography
Project support
* Recruitment of juvenile flatfishes in Alaska
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 18445, 11983; 1993-1994
* Juvenile flatfish habitat in Kachemak Bay: A pilot study
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 11988; 1994-1995
* Defining habitats for juvenile flatfishes in south central Alaska
Brenda L. Norcross, principal investigator
TO 12041; 1995-1998
Alexander K. Prichard, M.S. Biology and Wildlife
Project support
Intertidal and subtidal effects of pollution: Assessment of top-trophic-level predators
as bioindicators
Lawrence K. Duffy, principal investigator
TO 11987; 1993-1997
Steve Sklavounos, M.S. Marine Biology
Project support
Kachemak Bay experimental and monitoring studies
Raymond C. Highsmith, principal investigator
TO 11982; 1994-1997
Zachary D. Richter, M.S. program, University of Northern Iowa
Project support»» »
Intertidal and subtidal effects of pollution: Assessment of top-trophic-level predators
as bioindicators
Joan F. Braddock, principal investigator
TO 11986; 1994-1997
