Master's Candidate

Grand Valley State University
Annis Water Resources Institute 740 West Shoreline Drive Muskegon, MI 49441

Office: 228 Lake Michigan Center
Phone: (616) 331-8798 Fax: (616) 331-3864 Email:

 

 

Degrees

B.S. Biology 1999 - Hope College, Holland Michigan

Bio

I was born and raised in West Michigan and went to Hope College for my undergraduate degree. After college I went to Maryland for an internship at The Salisbury Zoo. After that, I stayed in the state and initially worked as a lab technician for a biotech company in Rockville, MD (BioReliance) performing immunoassays (ELIZA, IFA, Western Blot). I then moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore and worked for 6 years as a hatchery technician at an oyster aquaculture business on the Chesapeake Bay. One of my responsibilities was growing microalgae as a food source for brood-stock and larval oysters. In 2011, I returned to Michigan to get my Master's Degree in biology with an emphasis in aquatic science from GVSU. For my thesis, I am working on the Muskegon Lake Observatory Buoy project in the lab of Dr. Bopi Biddanda. I am using high-frequency time-series buoy data to study seasonal and episodic drivers of phytoplankton productivity along with other lake processes. In particular, I am looking at how the lake responds to inter-annual variability of climate and weather patterns.

Posters/Presentations

Observing Effects of Climate Anomalies and Episodic Weather Events on Muskegon Lake Phytoplankton Productivity Using Time-Series Data. Jun 6, 2013, IAGLR Annual Conference, Purdue University - West Lafayette, IN

The Muskegon Lake Observatory: Analyzing Seasonal and Episodic Drivers of Phytoplankton Productivity Using High Resolution Time-Series Data, Apr 10, 2013, GVSU Student Scholars Day, GVSU Allendale, MI

Observing the effects of climate anomalies and episodic weather events on lake phytoplankton productivity using high frequency time series, Mar 22, 2013, Michigan Academy Annual Conference, Hope College Holland, MI

Using observatories to track lake-metabolism, and their role in the global carbon cycle, Recent Changes in the Biogeochemistry of the Great Lakes System (BOGLS) Workshop, Mar 12, 2013, Wayne State University Detroit, MI

Studying Lakes Using Real-Time Series Observatories, Nov 4, 2012, Fall Science Update, GVSU Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Publications

James N. McNair, Leon C. Gereaux, Anthony D. Weinke, Meagan R. Sesselmann, Scott T. Kendall, Bopaiah A. Biddanda. 2013. New methods for estimating components of lake metabolism based on free-water dissolved-oxygen dynamics. Ecological Modelling. 263: 251-263