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Paul O. Grammer

University of Southern Mississippi
703 E. Beach Blvd.
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
(228) 872-4251
paul.grammer@usm.edu

Education

  • Master of Science in Coastal Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi (projected completion summer 2008) (Dr. Bruce H. Comyns major advisor)
  • Bachelor of Science in Biology (minor in Marine Science), Coastal Carolina University (2002)

Professional Experience

Research Technician I: (August 2007 – Present) Department of Coastal Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi – Participation in the following research project:

  • Ecosystem-based management – ecosystem models. NOAA – nGI Initiative (2006 – 2008)

Graduate Research Assistant: (2002 – 2007) Department of Coastal Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi – Participation in the following research projects:

  • Maintaining responsible coastal and estuarine waterfront development in Mississippi: mapping and quantifying shoreline habitat types. NOAA, Coastal Impact Assistance Program. (2003 – 2007): Constructed ArcGIS database using ground-truthed satellite imagery, classifying and quantifying shoreline habitats along the Mississippi coast.
  • Southeast Area Mapping and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) plankton sampling (2003 – 2007): Followed SEAMAP protocol to collect plankton samples (oblique bongo and surface neuston tows) from the northern Gulf of Mexico.
  • Studies on dolphin (Coryphaena hippurus) and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico: early life history and recruitment of larvae and young juveniles to pelagic Sargassum habitat. NOAA/NMFS MARFIN. (2005 – 2007): Prepared for plankton cruises and worked on research vessel to collect (using neuston and bongo nets) and preserve samples.
  • Reproductive biology, potential spawning and nursery areas and larval identification of blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission/ Atlantic Billfish Research Program. (2005 – 2007): Prepared for plankton cruises and worked on research vessel to collect (using neuston and bongo nets) and preserve samples.
  • Use of otolith (earbone) microchemistry to determine the importance of specific habitats and regions for juvenile red drum. Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Mississippi Tidelands Trust Fund Program. (2003 – 2006): Assisted in field collections of juvenile red drum, otolith extraction, and otolith preparation for microchemical and isotope analyses.
  • Use of otolith microchemistry of spotted seatrout to identify stock source-areas, reveal population movements, and determine inter-annual variability in regional patterns of otolith signatures in Mississippi coastal waters. Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. (2004 – 2006): Assisted in field collections of juvenile and adult spotted sea trout, otolith extraction, otolith core extraction (developed protocol) and preparation for microchemical and isotope analyses.
  • Fisheries recruitment in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico: can important geographic sources of juvenile nursery habitat be determined using otolith microchemistry? Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. (2003): Assisted in field collection of adult spotted sea trout, otolith core extraction (developed protocol) and preparation for microchemical and isotope analyses.
  • Investigations of young fishes that utilize Sargassum and frontal zone habitats off Mississippi in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico: assessment of species diversity, relative abundance, vertical distribution and habitat requirements of the larval and juvenile stages of marine fishes important in the Mississippi recreational fishery. Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. (2003 – 2005): Prepared for plankton cruises and worked on research vessel to collect (using neuston nets, bongo nets and Tucker trawls) and preserve samples.
  • Beach and oyster reef microbial monitoring programs. Mississippi DEQ/DMR (2002 – 2003): Assisted in field sampling and employed USDA/EPA microbial culturing techniques

Graduate Teaching Assistant (The University of Southern Mississippi):

  • Oceanography (2007)
  • Ichthyology (2005)
  • Marine Biology (2004)
  • Oceanography (2003)

Research/Teaching Assistant: (2001 – 2002) Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University – Participated in the following research project: Effects of water on and around Waites Island, SC on chloride cells of the opercular epithelium. Project involved dissecting the opercular epithelium from Fundulus heteroclitus and measuring differences in active transport by chloride cells using an Ussing chamber.

Deckhand: (2000 – 2001) Great American Riverboat Co. Myrtle Beach, SC

Volunteer Experience

  • Co-Coordinator, Girlscout Spring Fling Science Escape, Sept. 2006, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
  • Co-Coordinator, Girlscout Spring Fling Science Escape, April 2005, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
  • President, Marine and Estuarine Graduate Student Association (MEGSA), 2004, Department of Coastal Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi.
  • Student Moderator, Mississippi Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Jackson, Mississippi (February 2004).
  • Co-Coordinator, 5th annual Graduate Student Symposium, January 2004, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
  • Volunteer on SEAMAP cruise, Northern Gulf of Mexico (2002)
    Duties included fish and invertebrate identification in addition to sexing, weighing and measuring the catch.

Publications

Comyns, B.H., M.S. Peterson and P.O. Grammer. 2007. Maintaining responsible coastal and estuarine waterfront development in Mississippi: mapping and quantifying shoreline habitat types. (MS.R.07). Final Report submitted to the Coastal Impact and Assessment Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, c/o the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Jackson, Mississippi.

Presentations

  • Grammer, P.O. and B. H. Comyns. 2007. Techniques to determine the effects of growth rate and size-at-age on potential recruitment success of the bay anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli, in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. 33rd Annual Meeting of the Mississippi American Fisheries Society. Feb. 2007. Vicksburg, MS.
  • Franks, J. and P. O. Grammer. 2007. Recent occurrence of young tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, in Mississippi coastal waters. 33rd Annual Meeting of the Mississippi American Fisheries Society. Feb. 2007. Vicksburg, MS.
  • Comyns, B., C. Rakocinski, M. Peterson, A. Shiller, P. Grammer. 2006. Using otolith microchemistry of spotted seatrout to determine important regions of nursery habitat across coastal Mississippi, Alabama-Mississippi Bays and Bayous Symposium. Nov. 2006. Mobile, AL.
  • Grammer, P. and T. Scott. The Effects of the Water on and around Waites Island on the Chloride Cells of the Opercular Epithelium. 16th National Conference on Undergraduate Research. April 2002. Whitewater, WI.

Posters

  • Comyns, B.H., C.F. Rakocinski, M.S. Peterson, P.O. Grammer and A.M. Shiller. 2005. Determining the importance of regional nursery habitat for juvenile speckled trout in the Northern Gulf of Mexico using otolith microchemical analyses. Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute. Nov. 2005. San Andres, Columbia.
  • Comyns, B.H., C.F. Rakocinski, M.S. Peterson, P.O. Grammer and A.M. Shiller. 2006. Determining the importance of regional nursery habitat for juvenile speckled trout in the Northern Gulf of Mexico using otolith microchemical analyses. Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute. Feb. 2006. Natchez, MS.

Professional Skills

  • Ability to operate and perform general maintenance on small boats and trucks
  • General computer knowledge; proficient in Microsoft Office, ArcGIS, SPSS, Adobe Photoshop, Imagine, Garmin GPS software
  • Experience using YSI multi-parameter probes and expendable bathythermographs (XBTs)
  • Experienced with multiple field sampling gear types (i.e. seines, trawls, BPLs, neuston nets, bongo nets, Tucker trawls, ring nets, etc.)
  • Interpretive skills: Identification of many fish and invertebrate species from the southeastern United States (particularly fish species)
  • Extensive experience extracting, cutting, and polishing otoliths from larval and adult fishes
  • Extensive experience examining daily otolith growth increments and annuli
  • Specimen fixation and preservation of fishes and invertebrates
  • Extensive experience with fresh and saltwater aquarium setup and maintenance
  • Completed Boat Mississippi boating safety course (2006)
  • Advanced SCUBA certified
  • Wildland Fire Fighting certified (Red Card 2005, 2006)

References

Dr. Bruce H. Comyns
Department of Coastal Sciences
The University of Southern Mississippi
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
(228) 872-4267
bruce.comyns@usm.edu

James S. Franks
Center for Fisheries Research and Development
The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
(228) 872-4202
jim.franks@usm.edu

Dawn M. Rebarchik
Chief microbiologist
The University of Southern Mississippi
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
(228) 872-4259
dawn.rebarchik@usm.edu

http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/contacts/view_vitae.php
703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 - Phone (228) 872-4200 - Fax (228) 872-4204
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory - School of Ocean and Earth Sciences - College of Science and Technology
The University of Southern Mississippi - AA/EOE/ADAI
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