Mary Alice Coffroth is an American marine biologist who is a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is known for her use of molecular tools to examine coral larval ecology, recruitment and cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

Mary Alice Coffroth
Born1954 (age 69–70)[1]
Somerset, PA
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsMarine Biology
InstitutionsState University of New York at Buffalo
ThesisMucous sheet production by poritid corals (1988)

Education and career

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Coffroth has a B.S. from the College of William and Mary (1976), and an M.S. (1981) and a Ph.D. (1988) from the University of Miami.[1] In 1990 she joined the State University of New York at Buffalo where, as of 2023, she is a professor in the geology department.[2]

Research

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Her PhD research focused on the production of coral mucus by poritid corals and its role in the reef ecosystem.[3] She was an early adopter of molecular approaches in marine ecology initially examining gorgonian population genetics using DNA fingerprinting,[4] followed by research into the molecular taxonomy of cnidarian photosymbionts.[5] Coffroth has used the underwater research station Aquarius Reef Base to study genetic differences in corals.[6] Her work on coral spawning in the Caribbean has shown how corals can initially take up a range of symbiont species which are then winnowed to a predictable subset of the available species.[7] She has also examined how coral symbionts are responding to climate change and increasing sea water temperatures.[8][9] She established a culture collection with Caribbean corals and octocorals, the BURR Culture Collection, which is used to examine the relationship between corals and their symbiotic algae.[10]

Selected publications

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  • Coffroth, Mary Alice; Santos, Scott R. (2005-06-17). "Genetic Diversity of Symbiotic Dinoflagellates in the Genus Symbiodinium". Protist. 156 (1): 19–34. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2005.02.004. ISSN 1434-4610. PMID 16048130.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mary Alice Coffroth | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  2. ^ "Dr. Mary Alice Coffroth Home | Buffalo Undersea Reef Research". burr.bio.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  3. ^ Coffroth, Mary Alice (1988). "MUCOUS SHEET PRODUCTION BY PORITID CORALS". Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  4. ^ Coffroth, Mary Alice; Lasker, Howard R.; Diamond, Margaret E.; Bruenn, Jeremy A.; Bermingham, Eldredge (1992). "DNA fingerprints of a gorgonian coral: a method for detecting clonal structure in a vegetative species". Marine Biology. 114 (2): 317–325. doi:10.1007/BF00349534. ISSN 0025-3162. S2CID 84680077.
  5. ^ Coffroth, Ma; Santos, Sr; Goulet, Tl (2001). "Early ontogenetic expression of specificity in a cnidarian-algal symbiosis". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 222: 85–96. Bibcode:2001MEPS..222...85C. doi:10.3354/meps222085. ISSN 0171-8630.
  6. ^ Watson, Stephen (2002-05-28). "Coral reef study sends UB team into the depths". The Buffalo News. pp. [1], [2]. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  7. ^ Hillis, David M. (2012). Principles of Life. Macmillan. p. 404. ISBN 978-1-4292-5721-3.
  8. ^ Fountain, Henry (15 June 2004). "Observatory". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Singer, Siegfried Fred; Avery, Dennis T. (2007). Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7425-5117-6.
  10. ^ Braverman, Irus (2018-10-30). Coral Whisperers: Scientists on the Brink. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-97083-0.
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