Michael Wetz

Wetz Photo

Assistant Professor

Biological Oceanography
Ph.D., Oregon State University, 2006

 

 

 

Research Interests: estuarine/coastal phytoplankton ecology; food-web dynamics; nutrient & carbon cycling.

My research focuses on the ecology and physiology of estuarine/coastal plankton. In particular, I try to understand how planktonic communities are affected by climatic- and human- induced perturbations. Some current and/or pending research topics include; 1) storm impacts on estuarine phytoplankton dynamics & food web interactions, 2) estuarine air-sea CO2 fluxes and environmental controls upon those fluxes (funded by NSF Chemical Oceanography), 3) the role of picophytoplankton in estuarine food webs (funded by N.C. Sea Grant), and 4) transparent exopolymer particle dynamics in estuaries. As part of the newly- created Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability (IESES) at FSU, I am also starting a program to examine the feasibility of using microalgae as a biomass feedstock for biofuel production.