Dr. Antonietta Quigg

Research Interests

 ·         My lab’s research is focused on phytoplankton as model organisms to address questions related to water, climate and energy. We use quantitative and experimental approaches to elucidate the importance of biotic and abiotic factors influencing phytoplankton dynamics (community composition, physiology, ecology) in both field and laboratory-settings.

·         One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is ensuring an adequate supply and quality of water to meet rapidly increasing human needs whilst securing the continued health of our waterways. The goal of much of the lab’s research is to understand and predict interactions between water systems, climate change, land use and ecosystem function and services in estuaries and coasts. Studies are performed at a level of spatial and temporal resolution to allow for extrapolation to other regions, and to ultimately develop and/or feed predictive models.

·         One of the more important emerging issues for the 21st century is the fate and transport of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to the environment. By investigating ENPs which have trace metal cores, we have transitioned from investigating metals as nutritional components of phytoplankton to work on the toxicity of metals. Phytoplankton are directly and indirectly impacted by ENPs, and there is an increased potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification of some metals to higher trophic levels. Because of their potential to alter biogeochemical cycles including the C and N cycle, this will continue to be an active area of future studies; as will be understanding the potential phytoplankton protective and detoxifying mechanisms.

Specialty

• Phytoplankton ecology and physiology, estuarine and coastal studies

Publications

For a complete list of publications, go to the lab webpage. Below is a list of our most recent publications (student names are underlined):

2013

Quigg, A., Nunnally, C.C., McInnes, A. S., Gay, S., Rowe, G., Dellapenna, T.M. and Davis, R. 2013 Primary productivity in Simpson and Sheep Bay Alaska. Using a Fluorescence Induction and Relation (FIRe) system to measure phytoplankton activity in a remote location. In press. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Bianchi, T. S., Garcia Tigreros, F.,Yvon-Lewis, S., Shields, M., Mills, H., Butman, D., Osburn, C., Raymond, P., Shank, C., DiMarco, S. F., Walker, N., Reese, B., Mullins, R., Quigg, A., Aiken, G.R., and Grossman, E. 2013 Enhanced Transfer of Terrestrially-Derived Carbon to the Atmosphere in a Flooding Event. In press. Geophysical Research Letters.

Nunnally, C.C., Rowe, G.T., Quigg, A. and Thornton, D. 2013 Oxygen consumption and nutrient regeneration from shipboard core incubations in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Zone. In press. Journal of Coastal Research. 63:

Roelke, D.L., Hayden, N., Li, H-P., Miller, C.J., Davis, S. E., Quigg, A. and Buyukates, Y. 2013 Insensitivity of seasonal plankton dynamics to inflows in a large, shallow bay system: A need for monitoring over spatial scales larger than the target system. In press. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Zhang, S., Jiang, Y.,  Chen, C-S.,Creely, D., Schwehr, K.A., Quigg, A., Chin, W-C. and Santschi, P.H. 2013 Ameliorating Effects by Extracellular Polymeric Substances Excreted by Thalassiosira pseudonana on algal toxicity of CdSe Quantum Dots.  Aquatic Toxicology. 126:214-223.

2012

Quigg, A., Kotabová, E., Jarešová, J., Kaòa, R.,  Šetlík, J., Šedivá, B., Komárek, O. and Prášil, O. 2012 Photosynthesis in Chromera velia represents a simple system with high efficiency. PLOS One. 7(10): e47036.

Dorado, S., Rooker, J. R., Wissel, B. and Quigg, A. 2012 Isotope baseline shifts in pelagic food webs of the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 464: 37-49.

Madrid, E. N., Armitage, A. R., and Quigg, A. 2012b The photosynthetic response of four common wetland plant species to substrate salinity and nutrients in the South eastern United States. Journal of Coastal Research. 28:1197-1207.

Madrid, E. N., Quigg, A., and Armitage, A. R. 2012a Marsh construction techniques influence carbon production of emergent and submerged vegetation in a brackish marsh in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.  Ecological Engineering. 42:54-63.

Quigg, A. 2012 Ecophysiology of selected tree species in the coastal temperate rainforests of Prince William Sound, Alaska. TREES Structure & Function. 26:1123-1136.

Zhang, S., Jiang, Y., Chen, C-S., Spurgin, J., Schwehr, K.A., Quigg, A., Chin, W-C., and Santschi, P.H. 2012 Aggregation and dissolution of quantum dots in marine environments: the importance of extracellular polymeric substances. Environmental Science & Technology. 46:8764-8772.

Martin, R. E. and Quigg, A. 2012 Evolving Phytoplankton Stoichiometry Fueled Diversification of the Marine Biosphere. Geosciences. Special Issue on Paleontology and Geo/Biological Evolution. 2:130-146.

Bragg, J.G., Quigg, A., Raven, J.A., Wagner, A. 2012 Protein elemental sparing and codon usage bias are correlated among bacteria. Molecular Ecology. 21: 2480–2487.

Jiang, Y.,Yoshida, T.,and Quigg, A. 2012 Photosynthetic performance, lipid production and biomass composition in response to nitrogen limitation in marine microalgae. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 54:70-77.

Steichen, J., Windham, R., Brinkmeyer, R. and Quigg, A. 2012 Ballast water impacts on Galveston Bay, Texas. Bulletin marine pollution. 64: 779–789.

2011

Chen, C-S., Anaya, J.M., Zhang, S., Spurgin, J., Chuang, C-Y.,  Xu, C., Miao, A-J., Chen, E. Y-T., Schwehr, K. A.,  Jiang, Y., Quigg, A., Santschi, P.H., and Chin, W-C. 2011 Effects of engineered nanoparticles on the assembly of exopolymeric substances from marine phytoplankton. PLos One. 6(7): e21865.

Sylvan, J. B., Quigg, A., Tozzi, S. and Ammerman, J.W. 2011 Mapping phytoplankton community physiology on a river impacted continental shelf: testing a multifaceted approach. Estuaries and Coasts. 34:1220–1233.

Quigg, A.,Sylvan, J. B., Gustafson, A. B., Fisher, T. R., Tozzi, S. and Ammerman, J. W. 2011b Going west: Phosphorus limitation of primary production in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and the importance of the Atchafalaya River. Aquatic Geochemistry. 17: 519-544.

Maloney, B., Iliffe, T. M., Gelwick, F. and Quigg, A. 2011 Effect of nutrient enrichment on naturally occurring algal species in six cave pools of Bermuda. Phycologia. 50: 132–143.

Xu, C., Santschi, P. H., Hung, C.-C., Zhang, S., Schwehr, K, A., Roberts, K.A., Guo, L., Gong, G.-C., Quigg, A., Long, R. A., Pinckney, J., Duan, S.W., Amon, R., and Wei, C-L. 2011 Controls of Th-234 removal from the oligotrophic ocean by polyuronic acids and modification by microbial activity. Marine Chemistry. 123: 111-126.

Quigg, A., Irwin, A.J. and Finkel, Z.V. 2011a Evolutionary imprint of endosymbiosis of elemental stoichiometry: testing inheritance hypotheses. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences. 278: 526-534.