Astrid Schnetzer

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Astrid Schnetzer
Research Assistant Professor
Dept. of Biological Sciences
University of Southern California
Phone: (213) 82-1800
Fax: (310) 683-9124
Email: astrids@usc.edu
Curriculum
Vitae
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| Research
Interests |
| Plankton food web dynamics, microbial
ecology and biogeochemical cycling. The ecology of harmful algae blooms
(HABs) and the
identification of key factors that allow HAB species such as Pseudo-nitzschia spp. to dominate
coastal waters is currently a main research focus. I also study protistan
diversity in a variety of ecosystems including the Pacific coastal
ocean, Antarctica and hydrothermal vent
habitats. I am especially interested in how mesozooplankton feeding can impact protistan community
structure and consequently biogeochemical cycling in these
environments. |
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| Educational
Summary |
2001
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Ph.D.
in Marine Biology, University
of Vienna, Austria |
| 1996 |
M.S. in Zoology / Ecology, University
of Vienna, Austria
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| Employment
History |
| 2006-Present |
Research
Assistant Professor, University
of Southern California |
| 2002-2005 |
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University
of Southern California |
| Top |
| Publications |
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Wood E.S, Schnetzer
A., Benitez-Nelson C.R., Anderson C., Berelson W., Brzezinksi M.,
Burns J.,
Caron D.A., Cetinic I., Ferry J., Fitzpatrick E., Jones B., Miller
P.E., Morton
S.L., Schaffner R.A., Siegel D., Thunell R. (accepted) Rapid downward
transport of the neurotoxin domoic acid in coastal
waters -
Nature Geoscience
Caron DA.,
Countway PD., Savai P., Gast RJ., Schnetzer
A., Moorthi S., Dennett,
MR. Moran, DM. and Jones AC.
(in review) Defining DNA-based operational taxonomic units for
microbial
eukaryote ecology – Appl.
Environ.
Microbiol.
Litaker,
R.W., Stewart, T.N., Eberhart, B.T.L., Wekell, J.C., Trainer, V.L.,
Kudela,
R.M., Miller, P.E., Roberts, A., Hertz, C., Johnson, T.A., Frankfurter,
G.,
Smith, J., Schnetzer, A., Schumacker,
J., Bastian, J.L., Odell, A., Gentien, P., Le Gal, D., Hardison, D.R.,
Tester,
P.A (2008). Rapid Enzyme-linked
Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of the Algal Toxin Domoic Acid – Journal of Shellfish
Research: 27: 1-10
Schnetzer, A.,
Miller, P.
E., Schaffner, R. A.,
Stauffer, B., Jones, B., Weisberg, S. B, DiGiacomo, P. M., Berelson, W.
and
Caron, D. A. (2007) Pseudo-nitzschia
spp. and domoic acid in the San
Pedro Channel and Los Angeles harbor areas of the Southern California
Bight,
2003-2004 - Harmful Algae, 6 (3): 372-387 pdf
Caron, D.A. and Schnetzer, A. Protistan
community structure (2006). In: Hurst,
C.J., Knudsen, G.R., McInerney, M.J., Stetzenbach, L.D. and M.V. Walter (eds.). Manual
of
Environmental Microbiology, Section IV, ASM Press, Washington,
D.C.
Schnetzer, A. and Caron,
D.A. (2005) Copepod grazing
impact on the Trophic Structure of the
Microbial
Assemblage of the San Pedro Channel, California – J Plankton Res, 27:959-972 - pdf
Schnetzer A. and Steinberg D.K.
(2002) Active Transport of
particulate organic carbon and nitrogen by vertically migrating
zooplankton in
the Sargasso Sea. Mar Ecol Progr
Ser, 234:71-84. pdf
Schnetzer A. and Steinberg D.K. (2002) Natural
Diets
of
Vertically Migrating Zooplankton in the Sargasso
Sea. Mar Biol,
141(1):89-99. pdf
In Preparation:
Schnetzer
A., Moorthi S.,
Gast RJ., Countway PD., Gilg IC. and Caron DA. Depth matters: Microbial
eukaryote diversity and community structure in the western North
Pacific as
indicated by environmental gene libraries – Deep Sea Res.
Schnetzer
A., Caron DA.
Copepod grazing impact on the microbial assemblage of the San Pedro
Channel,
California: analyses of protistan community composition changes through
gene
sequences – Limnol. Oceanogr.
Caron, DA.,
Countway PD., Vigil P., Schnetzer A., Gobler CJ.,
Lonsdale DJ., Jones AC. and Kim DY.
Protistan diversity in estuaries subjected to historical and
contemporaneous
blooms of the ‘Brown Tide’ alga, Aureococcus
anophagefferens
Gilg I.C.,
Amaral-Zettler L.A., Countway P.D., Moorthi S., Schnetzer A.
and Caron DA. Phylogenetic
affiliations of mesopelagic acantharia and acantharian-like
environmental 18S
rRNA genes in the San Pedro Channel – Protist
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Invited
Seminars and Talks
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Schnetzer A, Caron DA
and Fitzpatrick E.
(2008) Seminar at Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center:
Domoic Acid Poisoning in Birds. Huntington Beach, California, US
Schnetzer A, Caron DA,
Palmer L, Hunter M, Evans R and Fitzpatrick E. (2007) Pseudo-nitzschia bloom dynamics in
coastal waters near Los Angeles and
confirmed cases of domoic acid poisoning in marine mammals. Seminar at Symposium on
Diseases and
Maladies of Southern California Marine Mammals; Southern California Academy of Sciences, Fullerton,
California,
US
Schnetzer
A (2007)
Pseudo-nitzschia blooms and Marine
Mammal Strandings.
Marine
Mammal
Care
Center
at Fort
McArthur,
San
Pedro,
US
Schnetzer
A (2006) Harmful Algae
Blooms. Talk, Redondo
Beach
City Council
and Water Quality Task Force, Redondo
Beach,
California,
US
Schnetzer
A, Caron DA. (2006)
Harmful Algae Blooms. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San
Pedro,
California,
US
Schnetzer
A, Caron DA.
(2006) Exploring Protistan diversity in Antarctic coastal waters. Oral
presentation at the Census of Marine Antarctic Microbes Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria
Schnetzer A (2006)
Harmful and Toxic Algae in Southern
California. Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort McArthur, San Pedro, California, US
Schnetzer A (2002) The
Big Vertical Migration.
Open House, Department of Marine Biology, Vienna, Austria
Schnetzer, A.,
Steinberg, D. K. (2002) Active Transport
of Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) by Vertically
Migrating Zooplankton. Seminar, University
of Southern California,
California,
US
Schnetzer,
A., (2001) Vertical Migration in the Sargasso
Sea:
Implications on Export Flux and Resource Partitioning.
Seminar, University
of California
at Davis,
California,
US
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Published Abstracts, Invited Seminars and Talks
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| Professional
Memberships |
American
Society of Limnology and
Oceanography
American Geophysical Union
ProMare
Austria
The Oceanographic Society
International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae |
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Teaching
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2007,
2008 Guest
Lecturer for Advanced General
Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution, USC
2007
Instructor for Advanced Seminar
in Plankton Biology with Drs. Caron and Heidelberg, USC
2001
Instructor
for Biological Oceanography with Dr. Lomas, BIOS
1999,
2000 Teaching
Assistant for
Biological Oceanography, BIOS
1999
TA for Marine Microbial Ecology:
Molecular Ecology and Biogeochemistry, BIOS
1999
TA for Marine Microbial Ecology,
BIOS
1994 - 1996 TA for
Field Course
in Marine Ecology in Rovinj (Croatia), University of Vienna
Undergraduate
Research Mentor (USC)
2006 - 2009 Elizabeth Fitzpatrick
2006
- 2007 Gloria
Song
2007
Sarah Moy
2004
- 2006 Lauren
Farrar
2005
- 2006 Billy
Pan,
2005
Karoline
Tum
2003
- 2004 Erica
Brauer
2003
Carlos
Teuscher
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| Oceanic
Cruise and Field Experience |
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Southern California Coast
May
2006 – 2008 Redondo
Beach, King harbor. Investigating the development of algal
blooms and their relationship to
changes in environmental conditions
- (see
also NAMOS)
Feb 2004 – present EcoHAB
& MERHAB.
Weekly & quaterly cruises sampling the Los
Angeles harbor
and San
Pedro
Channel area to correlate Pseudo-nitzschia abundances and domoic
acid concentrations to
environmental conditions.
2002 –
2005 Microbial
Observatory
at USC.
Monthly
cruises investigating biodiversity of protistan
natural
assemblages from the San
Pedro Channel.
Southern
Ocean, Antarctica
Jan-Feb 2007 7-week
cruise to study mid-trophic food web dynamics, An Antarctic
Expedition: Education & Outreach
Oct-Dec 2005
7-week
cruises to study protistan diversity in
open water,
slush and sea-ice communities.
Oct/Nov 2003
Southern
Ocean. Month long cruise to study feeding ecology of copepods and protistan diversity in open
water and sea-ice communities.
Hydrothermal Vents,
Equatorial Pacific
Nov/Dec 2004 Extreme
2004 participant. 6-week cruise to hydrothermal vents along the
East
Pacific Rise (9N and 13N).
Investigating protistan
diversity within hydrothermal plume and benthic communities; Alvin dive to 2600m
at 13N site.
Sargasso Sea, North
Atlantic
April 1998-2001 Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS).
Numerous
cruises investigating open ocean biogeochemistry
and food web dynamics
(zooplankton
vertical migration, species-specific feeding preferences,
biogeochemical cycling).
Northern
Adriatic,
Mediterrenean
1992 –
1996
Benthic-pelagic coupling in the coastal Northern
Adriatic Sea
(Ruder Boskovich
Institute in Rovinj,
Croatia).
Investigating episodic sedimentation of algae blooms (marine snow)
involving
deployment and
recovery of sediment traps,
open water
sampling and measurement of sediment – water exchange
processes using SCUBA diving.
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| Education and Outreach |
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Harmful
Algae Research - Newspaper and
Television Features:
June 2007
- New York Times: ‘Sea
Lions Hit By High
Levels of Acid Poison in California’.
May 2007 - CBS
News: 'Sea
Lions Sickened By Toxic Algae Left On Beaches'. Video
- The Beach Reporter: 'Sea
mammals along the coast dying'.
- Los Angeles Times: 'Mass
poisoning swamps marine animal rehab centers'.
- Daily Pilot: 'Deadly
ocean toxin at worst-ever level'.
- Daily Breeze: 'Ocean
toxin still takes toll as levels decline'.
- Associated Press: 'Toxic
acid
blamed in deaths of seabirds'.
- International Bird Rescue Research Center - Press Release:' Crises
of Our Coast'.
- NOAA / Center for
Coastal Sponsored Ocean
Research: 'Harmful
Algal Bloom in California: Pseudo-nitzschia
Spreads Along Coast Causing
Massive Mortalities of Marine Life'.
April 2007 -
Science Daily, 'Algae
Bloom Kills Sea Birds, Other Sea Life In Southern California In
Record Numbers'.
- Los Angeles Times, 'Marine
deaths linked to toxin'.
- Daily Breeze, 'Demonic
Domoic'.
- The Log ‘Cause
of Marine Bird Deaths Still a Mystery'.
February
2007 - National CBS Evening News ‘Sea
Creatures in Trouble’ and ‘The Spread of Toxic Algae’.
July 2006 -
Los Angeles Times: Series on ‘Altered
Oceans Part I: A Primeval Tide of Toxins’.
June 2006
- The Daily Breeze ‘Tackling
A Toxic Tide’
Other
Outreach
2008
Education and Outreach featuring
dialog between elementary school classes and research team on Antarctic
Expedition: An Antarctic
Expedition: Education & Outreach
2007
Documentary
‘Men and
the Sea’ on toxic algal blooms and their impact on sea lions produced
by Amy
Tenowich,
‘Impact’
series by
USC Annenberg School of Communication
2006
- 2007 Documentary ‘In
Harm’s Way’ on toxic algal blooms and their
impact on coastal marine life. Producers: D. Caron &
A. Schnetzer in
association with the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Sciences;
directed
by Lauren Farrar
June 2005
Ocean
Literacy Workshop participant, Consortium for Oceanographic
Research and Education (CORE).
April
2005 Office of Science
and Technology: Featured Article in Bridges Issue:
'Doing
Research with Alvin - 5000 Feet Beneath the Oceans Surface'
2004-present Participation
in Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence
(COSEE), Multiple
lectures and workshops;
2002-present
Participation
in yearly Ocean Science Bowl at USC;
Ocean-focused
academic competition for high school students.
1998 -
2001 Guest Lecturer
for Elderhostel and high school programs, BBSR
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