Dr. Stephanie K Archer
I study the ecology of the glass sponge reefs. The goal of my research is to determine how the reefs are able to support such diverse communities of fish and invertebrates. I am also interested in developing novel monitoring methods for the reefs and other deep water habitats.
Current research and/or projects
I study how glass sponge reef ecosystems function and how we can use our knowledge of the ecosystem to develop more effective monitoring plans.
Research and/or project statements
Food web ecology of glass sponge reefs: This projects aim is to determine what the animals living on the glass sponge reefs eat. The ultimate goal is to understand which organisms may be acting as keystone species in the ecosystem.
Soundscape ecology of glass sponge reefs: The goal of this project is to determine if we can use passive acoustic monitoring as a cost effective way to gather long-term data on the community living on glass sponge reefs.
Seascape ecology of glass sponge reefs: The goal of this project is to determine how the distribution of sponge patches (e.g. their size and how close together) influences which animals, and how many of them, you see on the sponge reefs.
Education and awards
B.Sc. Ecology, Universit of Georgia, 2004
MS, Ecology, Utah State University, 2009
PhD, Ecology, North Carolina State University, 2015
Additional links
stephaniekarcher.com
Key publications
Archer, SK, JL Stevens, RE Rossi, KO Matterson, and CA Layman. 2017. Abiotic conditions drive significant variability in microbial activity and nutrient processing in a common Caribbean sponge, Ircinia felix. Limnology and Oceanography. DOI:10.1002/lno.10533
Archer, SK, EW Stoner, and CA Layman. 2015. A complex interaction between a sponge (Halichondria melanadocia) and a seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) in a subtropical coastal ecosystem. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 465:33-40.
Archer, SK, JE Allgeier, BX Semmens, SA Heppell, CV Pattengill-Semmens, AD Rosemond, PG Bush, CM McCoy, BC Johnson, and CA Layman. 2015. Hot moments in spawning aggregations: Implications for ecosystem-scale nutrient cycling. Coral Reefs 34(1):19-23. DOI: 10.1007/s00338-014-1208-4
Layman, CA, S Buhler, ST Giery, R Rossi, T Penland, M Henson, A Bogdanoff, M Cove, A Irizarry, C Schalke, and SK Archer. 2015. A primer on the history of food web ecology: Fundamental contributions of fourteen researchers. Food Webs 4: 14-24.