Dr. Tracey Sutton Receives NSU Provost’s Research and Scholarship Award

– JANUARY 7, 2020

From left to right: Dr. Richard Dodge, Dean of Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography; Dr. Tracey Sutton, recipient of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) 9th Annual Provost’s Research and Scholarship Award; and Dr. Ronald J. Chenail, NSU Interim Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs. Photo used with permission from Joe Donzelli, Associate Director NSU Office of Media Relations.

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) congratulates Dr. Tracey Sutton for being honored with the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Provost’s Research and Scholarship Award. This award recognizes faculty involved in innovative and sustained activities that demonstrate distinguished accomplishments towards scholarship, intellectual inquiry, and academic excellence.

Dr. Sutton, Professor at the Department of Marine and Environment and Environmental Sciences with the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, is a world-renowned expert and recognized leader in pelagic ecosystem dynamics research. He is particularly interested in the connectivity of trophic levels from the ocean’s surface to depths of over 5000 meters.

Dr. Sutton is the Director and Principal Investigator of the GoMRI-funded Deep-Pelagic Nekton Dynamics (DEEPEND) Consortium that includes 105 members from 19 institutions. The consortium is acquiring much-needed knowledge about deep-ocean ecosystems, which will help identify short- and long-term effects on deep-sea biota and its recovery from the Deepwater Horizon incident. Sutton is leading an effort that involves more than 40 researchers and their students, representing 14 research institutions, to synthesize what has been learned about deep-ocean ecosystems and directions for future research.

In addition to GoMRI funding, Sutton’s Oceanic Ecology Laboratory has received support from the National Science Foundation, NOAA Office of Exploration and Research, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Naval Research, Sloan Foundation/Census of Marine Life, and the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative. Sutton most recently received a NOAA RESTORE Science Program grant for the project Trends and drivers of faunal abundance of the offshore Gulf of Mexico: Narrowing the data gap in the Gulf’s largest ecosystem component.

Sutton has authored or co-authored 88 peer-reviewed publications and a chapter in the book Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills: “As Gulf Oil Extraction Goes Deeper, Who Is at Risk? Community Structure, Distribution, and Connectivity of the Deep-Pelagic Fauna.” He received a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of South Florida and held a post-doctoral position at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Ocean Life Institute. Previous faculty or guest investigator appointments include the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Ocean Research and Conservation Association, Florida Atlantic University, and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

Read more about the DEEPEND Consortium and their research:

• Discovering Vibrant, Dynamic Life in the Deep Gulf of Mexico
• Study Develops Biogeographic Classification of the World’s Deep Oceans
• Deep-Sea Research Informs Taxonomic Assessment of Gulf Fauna
• Study Describes Foodweb Dynamics of Predatory Deep-Sea Fishes in the Gulf of Mexico
• Student Researcher Blogs Highlight Exciting Deep-Ocean Discoveries
• DEEPEND graduate students: Travis Richards, Mike Novotny, Laura Timm, and Max Weber
• NSU Researcher Featured in History Channel Series

By Nilde Maggie Dannreuther. Contact maggied@ngi.msstate.edu for questions or comments.

***********

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative or GoMRI is a 10-year independent research program established to study the effect, and the potential associated impact, of hydrocarbon releases on the environment and public health, as well as to develop improved spill mitigation, oil detection, characterization and remediation technologies.  An independent and academic 20-member Research Board makes the funding and research direction decisions to ensure the intellectual quality, effectiveness and academic independence of the GoMRI research.  All research data, findings and publications will be made publicly available.  The program was established through a $500 million financial commitment from BP.  For more information, visit https://gulfresearchinitiative.org/

© Copyright 2010-2020 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) – All Rights Reserved. Redistribution is encouraged with acknowledgement to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). Please credit images and/or videos as done in each article. Questions? Contact web-content editor Nilde “Maggie” Dannreuther, Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University (maggied@ngi.msstate.edu).