Brent P. Thoma
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Laboratory Address: |
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory |
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Laboratory Phone: |
228-818-8815 |
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Laboratory Fax: |
228-872-4204 |
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Email: |
Brent.Thoma@usm.edu |
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Hometown: |
Boonville, Missouri |
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Date of Birth: |
July 7th, 1978 |
PRIMARY RESEARCH INTERESTS
Evolution, ecology, ontogeny, taxonomy and systematics of malacostracan crustaceans, with emphasis on Decapoda.
EDUCATION
M.S. Coastal Sciences
In Progress
Advisor(s): Dr. Richard W. Heard (Invertebrate Zoology)
Dr. Jinx Campbell (Molecular Phylogenetics)
The University of Southern Mississippi
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Cumulative GPA: 3.979
B.A. Biology with Honors
December 2003
University of Missouri ? Columbia
Cumulative GPA: 3.726
RESEARCH AND WORK EXPERIENCE
- April 2005 through present; Graduate Research Assistant; Compass Point Decapod Larvae Project; Sort and identify decapod larvae from plankton samples; The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Museum, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- September 2004 through April 2005; Graduate Research Assistant; Assist Curator with the day to day activities of the Museum, accession, catalog, and maintain Museum collections, identify material entering the Museum, maintain Museum database; The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Museum, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- March 2004 through August 2004; Graduate Research Assistant; Sturgeon Feeding Grounds, Benthic Biodiversity Study; Collected, picked, and sorted samples into major taxonomic groups, identified specimens to lowest practical taxon; The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Invertebrate Zoology Section, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- August 2002 through May 2003; Student Laboratory Technician; Arthropod Ecology Lab; Picked insects and arachnids from leaf litter samples, sorted samples into major taxonomic groups; University of Missouri ? Columbia, Department of Biology, Columbia, Missouri.
- December 2000 through December 2001; Student Technician; Maintained teaching specimens for General Zoology, Ornithology, Mammalogy, and Herpetology courses; Northwest Missouri State University, Department of Biology, Maryville, Missouri.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- September 2005 through present; Invited Lecture Series (3 Lectures): Special Problems in Taxonomic Database Development; The University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- June 2004 through July 2004; Teaching Assistant: Marine Invertebrate Zoology; Summer Field Program; The University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- August 2001 through December 2001; Instructor: General Zoology Laboratory; Northwest Missouri State University, Department of Biology, Maryville, Missouri.
- January 2001 through June 2001; Teaching Assistant: General Zoology Laboratory; Northwest Missouri State University, Department of Biology, Maryville, Missouri.
VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE EXPERIENCE
- May 2005; Volunteer presenter for Mississippi Day; Presented ?Wild Survival Tactics,? a presentation to fourth graders about the various tactics animals use to avoid predation in the wild; Popp?s Ferry Elementary School, Biloxi, Mississippi.
- April 2005; Volunteer for Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center; Collecting benthic samples on hard-bottom habitats off Charleston, SC aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster.
- April 2005; Volunteer for US Fish and Wildlife Service; Collecting and processing near shore benthic samples in suspected Gulf sturgeon feeding grounds; Panama City, Florida.
- February 2005; Science Fair Judge; Ocean Springs Middle School, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- September 2004; Volunteer Taxonomic Expert for AMRAT (Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team); Identified crustacean specimens that were collected; Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- May 2004; Volunteer presenter for Mississippi Day; Presented ?Wild Survival Tactics,? a presentation to fourth graders about the various tactics animals use to avoid predation in the wild; Popp?s Ferry Elementary School, Biloxi, Mississippi.
- July 2002; Volunteer for US Fish and Wildlife Service; Tagging gulf sturgeon on the Escambia River; Pensacola, Florida.
- August 2001 through December 2001; Department of Biology Student Liaison to the Dean; Faculty elected position, liaison between students and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Northwest Missouri State University, Department of Biology, Maryville, Missouri.
- May 2001 through December 2001; Freshman Peer Advisor; Faculty nominated position, assisted faculty with setup and instruction of freshman seminar course, liaison between students and faculty of the Department of Biology; Northwest Missouri State University, Department of Biology, Maryville, Missouri.
- May 2001; Herpetology Proctor for Junior Science Olympiad; Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri.
POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS
- Thoma, B.P. 2005. The Gammarus mucronatus (Gammaridae, Amphipoda) species complex in the northern Gulf of Mexico: ecophenotypic variants or distinct species? XII International Colloquium on Amphipoda, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland. July 24th-27th. Non-Abstract, international. Poster presentation.
- Thoma, B.P. 2005. The Gammarus mucronatus (Gammaridae, Amphipoda) species complex in the northern Gulf of Mexico: ecophenotypic variants or distinct species? Sixth International Crustacean Congress, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland. July 17th-22nd. Abstract, international. Poster presentation.
- Thoma, B.P. 2004. Taxonomy and Morphology of the Decapoda. Florida Association of Benthologists Fall Crustacea Workshop, Long Key, Florida. October 13th ? 15th. Non-Abstract, regional. Invited Lecturer.
- Foster, J.M. and B.P. Thoma. 2004. Preliminary investigations of the comparative occurrence of sponge
dwelling amphipods in Tedania ignis (Porifera, Demospongiae, Tedaniidae) from a turtle grass bed and a red mangrove forest in the Florida Keys, USA. Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, Biloxi, Mississippi. February 19th ? 20th. Abstract, regional. Presenting author, poster presentation. Received Best Student Poster Award. - Thoma, B.P. and J.M. Foster. 2004. Comparative occurrence of sponge-dwelling amphipods in Tedania ignis
(Demospongiae, Tedaniidae) from a turtle grass bed and a red mangrove forest in the Florida Keys, USA. Graduate Student Symposium co-hosted by The University of Southern Mississippi, University of South Alabama, and Louisiana State University, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. January 30th ? 31st. Abstract, regional. Presenting author, oral presentation.
PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
- Thoma, B.P. In review. New records of the families Goneplacidae and Dorippidae (Decapoda: Brachyura) from the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement.
- Thoma, B.P., R.W. Heard, and R. Vargas. 2005. A new species of Parapinnixa (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) from Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (3): 543-550.
- Foster, J.M., B.P. Thoma, and R.W. Heard. 2004. Range extensions and a review of the caprellid amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) from the shallow, coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (Suwannee River, Florida to Port Aransas, Texas) with an illustrated key to the species. Gulf and Caribbean Research 16: 161-175.
- Foster, J.M., B.P. Thoma, and R.W. Heard. 2004. Stomatopoda (Crustacea: Hoplocarida) from the shallow, inshore waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola River, Florida to Port Aransas, Texas). Gulf and Caribbean Research 16: 49-58.
SYMPOSIUMS, WORKSHOPS AND CERTIFICATIONS
- The 6th Crustacean DELTA Workshop, Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center, Charleston, South Carolina. October 25th ? 29th, 2004. Participant.
- Florida Association of Benthologist Fall Crustacea Workshop, Long Key, Florida. October 13th ? 15th, 2004. Invited Lecturer.
- Symposium in Geospatial Sciences, Gulf Coast Geospatial Center, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. May 24th ? 28th, 2004. Participant.
- ESRI Introduction to ArcGIS I Certification Course, Gulf Coast Geospatial Center, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. April 28th and 30th, 2004. Participant.
HONORS, AWARDS AND GRANTS
- 2004; Best Student Poster; Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.
- 2003; National Science Foundation, Research Experience for Undergraduates; The University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson State University, Research Experience in Coastal and Marine Science Program.
- 2002-2003; Dean?s list; University of Missouri-Columbia.
- 2002; Sharp Scholarship; The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.
- 2001; Bearcat Grant, Tuition and travel to and from Gulf Coast Research Lab Summer Field Program; Northwest Missouri State University.
- 2000-2001; Dean?s list, Northwest Missouri State University.
- 2000-2001; Transfer Reagents Scholarship; Northwest Missouri State University.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS (Present)
- The Biological Society of Washington
- The Crustacean Society (TCS)
- Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)
- Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB)
- Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
- May 2004; ESRI Introduction to ArcGIS 1 Certified.
- April 2004; PADI Open Water Certified SCUBA Diver.
- March 1999; Snell Infrared, Level One Certified Infrared Thermographer.
I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE FOLLOWING SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
- Microsoft Office 1997, 2000, XP, 2003
- Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Streamline and PageMaker
- HTML and minimal Visual Basic and Java Scripting
- ESRI ArcGIS
- DELTA (DEscriptive Language for TAxonomy)
- Specify versions 3.2 ? 4.6
- MacClade
- PAUP*
- Clustal X
- BioEdit
- Procite