Amanda L. Kelley

Overview

I am a marine biologist interested in understanding the resiliency of marine species to ocean change. From a broad perspective, my research focuses on organism-environment interactions in coastal marine ecosystems. The goal of this work is to understand how this overarching element will contribute to (1) the outcome of species response to global environmental change  (e.g., temperature and pH), and (2) physiological mechanisms that influence the successful establishment of non-native species. Notably, both of my research interests are strongly linked to studying marine populations in the Anthropocene, an era where human impact will play a strong role in structuring coastal marine populations/communities and altering marine resources. Visit my web page here www.amandalkelley.com

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Current research

As research performed in association with my National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, this work aims to link complex chemical and physical oceanographic changes in polar regions to physiological sensitivities of endemic organisms. I am evaluating how early life history stages of S. neumayeri, the Antarctic sea urchin, will respond to the future, multi-stressor scenario, including ocean acidification, elevated temperature and reduced salinity. Using an integrative approach, I am assessing the physiological response of S. neumayeri by measuring O2 consumption as a proxy for metabolism, and quantifying larval size, which will provide an organismal metric to measure the fitness costs associated with development under the multi-stressor regime. Concomitant with whole-organism measurements, I am evaluating how gene expression is modulated under this multi-stressor conditions using RNA-Seq approach. This information can provide mechanistic insight into the physiological processes that are utilized to attempt a return to homeostasis, and identify specific cellular pathways that may warrant further investigation. This work is a step forward in providing evidence regarding the resiliency of polar marine calcifiers to dynamic, future ocean change.