Research Focus:

Dormancy is an important phase in the life cycle of many species because it synchronizes active periods of the life cycle with favorable conditions in the environment and enables survival during periods of adversity. My research has primarily focused on the phenomenon of dormancy in marine copepods. For more than 20 years I have examined the factors that are important in the induction, maintenance, and termination of dormancy. These studies have mostly considered the egg dormancy of calanoid copepods, but we have also conducted some investigations of the CV dormancy exemplified by Calanus. We have shown that photoperiod and temperature are the primary factors affecting the induction of diapause egg production and that accumulations of dormant eggs in the sea bed of coastal waters provide a seed bank for recruitment of nauplii into the plankton. In some cases these eggs can survive for many years in the sea bed. In recent years we have also turned our attention to evaluating the impact of reduced oxygen concentrations on the population dynamics of copepods.
 
 

After more than 20 years of conducting "basic" research on the phenomenon of dormancy we are now applying the knowledge we have acquired to the field of marine aquaculture. We are particularly interested in developing copepods as a routine and reliable source of food for rearing marine larval fish. Our approach is to use diapause eggs as a source of nauplii to feed young larvae.  We are also working on a collaborative project with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the US Department of Agriculture aimed at developing cost efficient re-circulating systems for marine aquaculture.

We conduct work in our laboratory on the main campus at Florida State University and also at the FSU Marine Laboratory that is located about 1 hour south of Tallahassee. We also conduct work in the field, and in recent years our study sites have included the Gulf of Mexico, coastal waters off northern California, Narragansett Bay, and the Gulf of Maine.

Recent Publications:

Chen, F. and N. H. Marcus. 1997a. Subitaneous, diapause, and delayed-hatching eggs of planktonic copepods from the northern Gulf of Mexico: morphology and hatching success. Marine Biology 127: 587-598.

Stalder, L. and N. H. Marcus. 1997b. Zooplankton responses to hypoxia: behavioral patterns and survival of three species of calanoid copepods. Marine Biology 127: 599-608.

Marcus, N. H., R. V. Lutz, and J. P. 1997c. Chanton. Impact of anoxia and sulfide on the viability of eggs of three planktonic copepods. Marine Ecology Progress Series 146: 291-295.

Marcus, N. H. and F. Boero. 1998a. Minireview: The importance of benthic-pelagic coupling and the forgotten role of life cycles in coastal aquatic systems. Limnology and Oceanography 43: 763-768.

Marcus, N. H. and R. Lutz. 1998b. Longevity of subitaneous and diapause eggs of Centropages hamatus (Copepoda:Calanoida) from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Biology 131: 249-257.

Marcus, N. H. 2001. Zooplankton: Responses to and consequences of hypoxia. In, The effects of hypoxia on living resources, with emphasis on the northern Gulf of Mexico.  N.N. Rabalais and R.E. Turner, Eds. American Geophysical Union, Coastal and Estuarine Series, Vol. 58: 49-60.

Marcus, N. H. and M. Murray. 2001. Copepod diapause eggs: A potential source of nauplii for aquaculture.  Aquaculture 201: 107-115.

Teaching:

• OCE1001-Elementary Oceanography
• WST 4930 and WST 5934 - Women and Science
• OCB 5556 - Zooplankton Ecology

Administration & Service (current):

    FSU

• Director,   Living Learning Community for Women in Math, Science, and Engineering.  
• Chair, Task Force on the Status of Women Faculty

    National

• Chair, Board on Oceans and Atmosphere, NASULGC (2001-2002)

Phone: 850 644-5498

FAX: 850 644-2581

marcus@ocean.fsu.edu