Dr. Michael Kingston, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, presented his latest research examining the role of fish predators and an invasive subtropical sea squirt on the marine invertebrate community that occupies submersed pilings, piers, and boat hulls.
Dr. Michael Kingston presented data from summer 2014 and 2015 examining the impact of fish predators and an invasive tunicate from South Carolina waters on the development of the submersed marine community that lives on piers, pilings and boat hulls at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC. His research indicates that the impact of the invasive tunicate (commonly called a sea squirt) on early community development is mediated by fish predators. Fish predators feed on the newly settled tunicates and prevent negative impacts on other members of the community but inside fish exclosure cages, the fast-growing tunicate quickly overgrows other invertebrate species to become the dominant space holder.
The 113th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Academy of Science was hosted by Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2. This meeting was especially meaningful to Dr. Kingston because the Methodist University Local Arrangements Committee was chaired by Associate Professor of Biology Clay Britton and included Assistant Professor of Biology Beth Overman; both are former students of Dr. Kingston and Elon University graduates of the Biology Department. Dr. Britton stands to the right of Mike Kingston in the attached photo. In addition to his presentation, Dr. Kingston served as a judge of the Botany and Zoology section of the Friday evening poster session and a judge at the Saturday morning Dereaux Award oral presentation competition in the Ecology and Environmental Science section.