Black Sea bass

Max Zavell defends his PhD thesis!

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18 April 2024. Today we are happy and proud to announce that Max Zavell has successfully defended his dissertation titled "Experimental assessment of ocean warming and acidification effects on multiple life stages of Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata". A big, heartfelt congratulations from the entire lab!

Max Zavell had started as a PhD student in our lab in fall 2020, and his thesis research broke new ground by working experimentally with Black Sea Bass, a grouper species of great interest because of its recent, explosive increase in abundance in Long Island Sound and the larger northwest Atlantic shelf. Over two fall and winter seasons, Max conducted ambitious long-term rearing experiments on juveniles and adults to study how overwintering could be the key to understand these new dynamics. Now, after only three and a half years, Max has stepped up to the plate and showed his peers and colleagues the fruits of the work.

We were particularly delighted that all this committee members - Profs. Jacqueline Webb (URI), Catherine Matassa (UConn), and Eric Schultz (UConn) - were able to attend in person!

Well done, Max! Your team spirit and unwavering energy will be missed! We wish you all the best for your next career steps!

Max presenting
On April 18th, Max begins presenting his PhD research at UConn's Department of Marine Sciences

Max and Hannes
Done! Max and Hannes savor a moment of pride in the Rankin Lab

Max and Matt
Max Zavell and Matt Mouland, who were a great team in the Rankin Lab and beyond

Max and Jackie and hb
Max with Hannes and Prof. Jacqueline Webb from the University of Rhode Island

TAFS publishes our first Black Sea Bass experiment paper!

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Fig01---BSB-CTDEEP-trawl-survey-count_new-copy
Black Sea Bass have rapidly increased in abundance particularly in Long Island Sound (LIS Trawl survey data).

 

27 December 2023. We are excited to announce that Transactions of the American Fisheries Society just published our first large experimental study on Black Sea Bass overwintering! The work is part of Max Zavell's PhD research and reports on temperature- and food-ration dependent overwinter growth in Black Sea Bass juveniles from Long Island Sound. We reared juveniles individually in two separate experiments, one applying three static temperature treatments (6, 12, 19°C) and another using a seasonal temperature profile to mimic the thermal experience of juveniles emigrating to their offshore overwintering grounds coupled with various food treatments.

We found that Black Sea Bass juveniles showed positive overwinter growth even at temperatures as low as 6°C. However, the best temperature for growth, survival, and lipid accumulation was 12°C, which is close to the presumed conditions at offshore overwintering habitats of this species.

Congratulations, Max, to this great paper! Also, congrats to undergraduate student Matthew Mouland, who helped tirelessly with the rearing and has now deservedly become a co-author.

Fig03---Exp1-GRTL-SGR-Cons
(A) total length (TL) growth (mm/day), (B) weight-specific growth (%/day), and (C) growth efficiency (%) of juvenile Black Sea Bass reared at 6°C (blue circles), 12°C (green circles), and 19°C (orange circles) for 42–78 days. Each symbol represents an individual fish.

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Juvenile Black Sea Bass rearing setup in March 2022 in the Rankin Lab. Each white bucket contained an individual fish.

Hannes & Max at the 45th Larval Fish Conference in San Diego

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2 September 2022. After two grueling years of pandemic restrictions, Zoom conferences and meetings, the Baumann lab was as elated as anyone else to attend the first in-person conference again! Hannes & Max went to beautiful La Jolla in San Diego to participate in this years 45th Larval Fish Conference (Aug 29 - Sep 2). The stunning setting of the Scripps campus amidst the sound of the Pacific Ocean breeze provided the right kind of backdrop to again mingle with colleagues, meet fellow graduate students for scientific and just fun discussions, while an eclectic number of talks across the spectrum of Larval Fish and Larval Biology renewed the inspiration for our science. Hannes gave a keynote about our recently published work on sand lance CO2 sensitivity, while Max presented his first conference talk about juvenile Black Sea Bass growth and energy allocation.

A big, heartfelt thanks to Noelle Bowlin (NOAA) and her team for pulling off this remarkable conference during these still uncertain, post-COVID times!

LFC45-break
On 29 August 2022, LFC45 participants mingle in front of the Pacific Ocean at the Scripps Auditorium (people from left to right: Lee Fuiman, Teresa Schwemmer, Max Zavell, Chris Chambers, Tom Hurst, Darren Johnson, Jeremy Miller).

HB-presenting
On 30 August, Hannes talks about potential mechanisms of sand lance CO2 sensitivity

Sunset-Scripps
At the end of a day full of science, two conference participants enjoy the sunset over the Pacific Ocean

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Participants of the 45th Larval Fish / Larval Biology Conference at the Scripps Campus on August 31st 2022

  • Baumann H. 2022. Why are sand lance embryos so sensitive to future high CO2 oceans? Keynote at the 45th Larval Fish Conference, San Diego 29 Aug - 1 Sep 2022
  • Zavell, M., Mouland, M., Schultz, E., and Baumann H. 2022. Overwinter growth and energy allocation of Black Sea Bass juveniles from Long Island Sound. 45th Larval Fish Conference, San Diego 29 Aug - 1 Sep 2022

Welcome to Max Zavell & David Riser [Lab News]

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Max-and-David
Max Zavell | David Riser

31 August 2020. The Baumann Lab is growing again and happy to welcome Max Zavell and David Riser as new graduate students to our lab!

Max Zavell just started on his journey as a PhD student in fall 2020, after graduating the same May with his Bachelor from the University of Rhode Island. Max is interested to work experimentally and continue exploring questions of coastal fish and climate change. In addition to continue working with Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia), his work will break new ground for our lab by starting with a new species for in our lab: Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata). Growth and physiology of this northernmost grouper species is of interest, given its recent, explosive increase in abundance in Long Island Sound.

David Riser started his Masters in September 2020 after graduating with his Bachelor from the University of Connecticut and a Major in Marine Sciences. David already looks back on a successful career in the US Coast Guard, but now ventures to develop academic chops and expertise. In close collaboration with CTDEEP, he will analyze time series of Black Sea Bass catches in Long Island Sound and begin collecting and aging adult Black Sea Bass using otoliths.

Welcome from all of us!
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On 12 September 2017, a juvenile Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) sits in nearshore waters of Long Island Sound, while a school of Atlantic silverside juveniles passes by (Jacob Snyder, Bluff Point)