|
John A. Commito
Research and Teaching
Interests
|
My research and
teaching activities are strongly interdependent. I teach a variety of
field-oriented courses in ecology, marine ecology, and environmental
issues, including a seminar on automobiles and land-use. My students
do research with me in the field and laboratory. We often present our
results together at research conferences and publish co-authored papers in
scientific journals.
My research focuses on the ecology
of the sea floor, especially intertidal mud and sand flats in Maine, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
I do experiments in the field, usually on predator-prey interactions,
animal dispersal mechanisms, and mathematical models of population
distribution patterns. I also analyze mitochondrial DNA sequences in
marine bivalves to understand the genetic structure of populations across
spatial scales. I have spent a year in Norway
working on the Oslofjord, eight months in New Zealand studying Manukau Harbor
in Auckland, and two seven-month stays in Italy
analyzing spatial patterns of seafloor organisms.
Another interest of mine is
land-use management, with an emphasis on the impact of the automobile on
American culture and environment. In order to compare policies in the
United States and other
countries, I toured Denmark
and participated in a conference on environmental studies in international
education, sponsored by Denmark's
International Study Program (DIS).
|
Education
|
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Ph.D. in Zoology, 1976.
Minor in Forestry Statistics.
Thesis: Predation, competition, life-history strategies, and the
regulation of estuarine soft-bottom community structure.
Honors: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Graduation
Research Award, Federal Predoctoral Research
Work-Study Award, Duke University Graduate Research Award.
|
|
Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York.
A.B. in Biological Sciences, 1971.
Minor in Art History
Honors: Cornell National Scholar, Kiwanis Scholarship, Qualter Fund Scholarship, Dean's List.
|
Professional Experience
|
Gettysburg College, Environmental Studies
Department, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, 1993-present.
Founding Chair, Environmental Studies Department, 2000-2003
Coordinator, Environmental Studies Program, 1993-2000.
Honors: Pennsylvania Professor of the Year, awarded by Carnegie
Foundation and Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Washington, DC
(2007). Student Senate Faculty
Appreciation Award (1994, 1999), Order of Omega Most Outstanding Faculty
Member Award (1998), Order of Omega Outstanding Natural Science Professor
Award (1996, 2000, 2012), Gettysburg College Award for Distinguished
Teaching (2013).
|
|
University
of Pisa, Department of
Environmental Science, Pisa,
Italy.
Visiting Research Scientist, 2001and 2008.
|
|
Hood College, Department of Biology, Frederick, Maryland.
Co-Chair, 1992-1993.
Director, Environmental Studies Program (undergraduate) and Environmental
Biology Program (master's degree level), 1980-1993.
Professor of Biology, 1990-1993.
Associate Professor of Biology, 1984-1990.
Assistant Professor of Biology, 1980-1984.
Honors: Maryland Professor of the Year, awarded by Carnegie
Foundation and Council for Advancement and Support of Education,
Washington, DC (1991).
|
|
New Zealand National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research, Water Quality Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Visiting Research Scientist, 1992.
|
|
University
of Oslo, Institute
of Biology, Department of Marine
Zoology and Marine Chemistry, Oslo,
Norway.
Visiting Research Scientist, academic year 1984-1985.
|
|
University
of Maine at Machias,
Division of Science and Mathematics, Machias, Maine.
Assistant Professor of Biology, 1976-1980.
|
|
Duke University Marine Laboratory, Departments of
Chemistry, Geology, and Zoology, Beaufort,
North Carolina.
Teaching Assistant, 1972-1976.
|
|
Duke University, Department of Zoology, Durham, North
Carolina.
Teaching Assistant, 1971-1973.
|
Professional Societies
|
American Association for the Advancement of
Science
American Association of University Professor
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Society of Naturalists
Atlantic Estuarine Research Society
Ecological Society of America
Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (United Kingdom)
Estuarine Research Federation
New England Estuarine Research Society
Pennsylvania Academy of Science
Society of Sigma Xi
|
Professional
Responsibilities
|
Doctoral thesis committees:
Auburn University
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de
France
University of Delaware
University of Maine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Université du Québec
Université de Rennes
University of Sydney
|
|
Panel member:
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement
of Teaching and Council for Advancement and Support of Education United
States Professor of the Year Award Program
European
Commission Seventh Framework Program: Marie Curie Fellowships
Fulbright Fellowship Program: Australia and New Zealand
Screening Committees
Italian
Ministry for Education, Universities, and Research:
Projects of National Interest
Future
in Research for Younger Investigators
National Science Foundation: Presidential Faculty
Fellows Awards Program
National Undersea Research Program
|
|
Proposal reviewer:
California Sea Grant Program
European Union
Doctoral Grants Program
Maine Marine Infrastructure and Technology Fund
Maine Sea Grant Program
National
Geographic Society
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Coastal
Ocean Program and
Cooperative
Marine Education and Research Program
National Science Foundation: Biological Oceanography,
Chemical Oceanography,
and Ecology Sections
National Sea Grant Program
National Undersea Research Program
Netherlands
Organization for Scientific Research: Earth and Life Sciences Division
New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and
Technology: Antarctica Program,
Public Good Science Fund
Regional Marine Research Program for the Gulf of
Maine
Smithsonian Institution Office of Fellowships and Grants
South Carolina Sea Grant Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment
Program
|
|
Manuscript reviewer:
Acta Oecologia
American Naturalist
Animal Behaviour
Aquatic Biology
Aquatic Botany
Biodiversity and
Conservation
Biological
Invasions
Bulletin of Marine Science
Continental
Shelf Research
Ecological Monographs
Ecology/Ecological Monographs
Écoscience (in
French)
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Estuaries and Coasts
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Helgoland
Marine Research
Hydrobiologia
Journal of Animal Ecology
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Journal of the
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Journal of Sea Research
Journal of Shellfish
Research
Limnology and Oceanography
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Marine Biology
Marine Biology Records
Marine Ecology
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Oecologia
Restoration Ecology
Scientia
Marina
Shore and Beach
Vie et Mileu
|
Research Grants
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Engaged Learning
Opportunities Fund:
Chemical cues as agents
in the spatial organization of seafloor bivalves: a student-oriented research
collaboration. $4,300. 2009.
|
Department of Biology, Marine Biology and Ecology Unit, University of Pisa,
Pisa, Italy:
|
|
Spatial dynamics of seafloor animal
populations. $40,000. 2008.
|
|
|
|
Presidential Research
Fellowship, Gettysburg
College:
|
|
Spatial Analysis of Coupled Natural and Human Systems in
Coastal Maine.
With T. W. Crawford and R. K. Wilson, Gettysburg College.
$10,000. 2002.
|
|
|
|
Department of Environmental Science, University of Pisa,
Pisa, Italy:
|
|
Ecology and population genetics of marine benthic
bivalves across spatial scales in Europe and North
America. $25,000. 2001
|
|
|
|
The Arthur Vining Davis
Foundations, Jacksonville,
Florida:
|
|
Technology, training, and support for Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). Sponsoring department at Gettysburg College.
$200,000. 2000-2002.
|
|
|
|
Gettysburg
College
Research and Professional Development Grant Program:
·
Legacy effects of climate change on seafloor
assemblages and ecosystem processes in the Gulf of Maine. $7,500. 2014.
|
|
·
Chemical cues as agents in the spatial
organization of seafloor bivalves: a student-oriented research
collaboration. $5,100. 2009.
·
Spatial dynamics of seafloor animal
populations: marine ecology research at the University of Pisa, sabbatical support for spring
semester, 2008. $7,000. 2008.
·
Larval and juvenile aggregation behavior in
a seafloor bivalve as mechanisms of self-organized criticality. $6,600.
2007.
·
Request
for special page charges in Landscape Ecology. $480.
2006.
·
Hierarchical spatial complexity and
biodiversity in the New England coastal
zone. $8,000. 2004.
·
Marine ecology research at the Laboratoire Maritime, Muséum
National d'Histoire Naturelle,
Dinard,
France:
sabbatical support for spring semester, 2001. $5,000. 2001.
·
Genetic structure of benthic bivalve
populations across spatial scales using mitochondrial DNA sequencing:
implications for coastal management. With K. A. Holland, Gettysburg College. $5,000. 1998.
·
Integrating molecular biology and marine
ecology: can DNA fingerprinting be used to monitor marine pollution?
$3,500. 1996.
·
A landscape ecology approach to
understanding complex spatial distributions in marine ecosystems.
$2,800. 1995.
·
The analysis of spatial pattern in a fractal
environment: a new approach to the study of a marine bivalve population in Maine.
$6,000. 1994.
|
|
|
|
New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research, Hamilton, New Zealand:
|
|
Marine infauna dispersal: the
influence of bioturbation events and near-bed
sediment transport. $20,000. 1992.
|
|
|
|
Beneficial-Hodson
Fellowship Program, Hodson Trust, Beneficial
Corporation, Peapack,
New Jersey:
|
|
Marine soft-bottom community dynamics in Manukau Harbor, Auckland,
New Zealand.
$37,600. 1992.
|
|
|
|
Whitaker Foundation, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania:
|
|
A Whitaker Foundation science initiative for Hood College. Co-director for Department of
Biology and Department of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy.
$225,000. 1989-1992.
|
|
|
|
National Science Foundation:
|
|
Alabama
Marine Studies Program. Sub-Contract EP05.
An experimental analysis of predator-prey relationships
in Ruppia maritima
seagrass beds. With A. H. Williams, Auburn University. $5,000 (not
spent). 1988-1989.
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|
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|
Potomac Edison Company, Hagerstown, Maryland:
|
|
Computer-assisted instruction in environmental
science. $1,800. 1986.
|
|
|
|
Norwegian Institute for Water Research and British
Petroleum, Ltd., Oslo, Norway:
|
|
Mesocosm analysis of infaunal predator-prey interactions in the Oslofjord. $25,000. 1984-1985.
|
|
|
|
Hood College Board of Associates Faculty Development
Program:
|
|
Marine science initiatives for Hood College.
$14,600. 1982-1992.
|
|
|
|
University of Maine/University of New Hampshire Sea
Grant Program:
|
|
·
The ecology of Mya
arenaria in the tidal flat environment (with
co-principal investigators from University
of Maine and University of New
Hampshire). R/LRF-45. $100,000.
1980.
·
The regulation of intertidal soft-bottom
community structure and the population dynamics of Mya
arenaria, Nereis
virens, and Glycera
dibranchiata in Maine. Part II. R/LRF-11.
$21,000. 1979.
·
The regulation of intertidal soft-bottom
community structure and the population dynamics of Mya
arenaria, Nereis
virens, and Glycera
dibranchiata in Maine. Part I.
R/11-1. $18,000. 1978.
|
Invited Seminars
|
1978.
|
Marine community structure and regulation in North Carolina and Maine: a comparative approach. Cobscook Bay Laboratory, Edmunds, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
1979.
|
Bivalve and polychaete
population dynamics in Maine.
Cobscook
Bay Laboratory, Edmunds, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
1980.
|
The effects of snail predation on the population
dynamics and life-history parameters of Mya
and macoma.
University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Science, Morehead City, North
Carolina.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The ecology of clams and worms and their management in Downeast Maine.
Maine Audubon Society, Harrington Chapter,
Harrington, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The effects of size-selective predation by Lunatia heros on the
population dynamics and life-history strategies of Mya
arenaria and Macoma
balthica. University of Maryland Horn Point
Environmental Laboratories, Cambridge,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1982.
|
Predator-prey interactions in soft-bottom benthic
systems in Maine.
Smithsonian Institution
Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies, Edgewater, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Naticid snail predation in New England: the effects of Lunatia
heros on the population dynamics of Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica. National
Shellfisheries Association Annual Convention, Baltimore, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Human population dynamics: a world view. Frederick Community
Commons, Frederick, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The environmental effects of nuclear war. Nuclear
Convocation, Hood College, Frederick,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1983.
|
Nuclear power plants and nuclear war. Department of
Sociology, University of Maryland, College
Park, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1984.
|
Resource allocation in marine mollusks. Department of
Biological Sciences, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Catonsville, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1985.
|
Dispersal and patch utilization in a marine benthic
community. Institute of Biology, University
of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species interactions in North American soft-bottom
communities. Department of Zoology, University
of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The potential for field studies in the Potomac Piedmont.
Potomac River
Basin Consortium, Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1986.
|
Problems in the Chesapeake.
Summer Meeting, Maryland Press Women and
Capital Press Women, Annapolis,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Siphon length and the evolution of predator avoidance
mechanisms in bivalves. Marine Sciences Institute, University
of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Predator-prey interactions in New
England soft-bottom marine communities. Williams College/Mystic
Seaport Program in American Maritime Studies, Mystic, Connecticut.
|
|
|
|
|
1987.
|
Analysis of predatory infauna
and multiple trophic levels in soft-bottom communities: the use of the
field experimental approach. West Indies Laboratory, St.
Croix, U.S.V.I.
|
|
|
|
|
1988.
|
Experimental marine ecology along the east coast of the United States.
Society of Sigma Xi, Chesapeake Chapter, Frederick, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1989.
|
Disturbance and dispersal: an emerging paradigm for soft-bottom
marine communities. Eagle Hill Wildlife Research Station, Steuben, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
1991.
|
Bible to baby boom: the roots of our environmental
crisis. Professional Development Conference, Frederick
Community College, Frederick, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Population regulation in marine soft-bottom communities:
the interactive roles of predation and dispersal. Department d'Oceanographie, Université
du Quebec, Rimouski, Quebec, Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
1992.
|
Animal dispersal in Manukau Harbor, New Zealand: control by
geological and biological processes. Water Quality Centre, National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand.
|
|
|
|
|
1994.
|
The fractal geometry of mussel beds. Sutherland Memorial
Symposium, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mathematics in ecological research. National Science
Foundation Program in Science Education, Department of Mathematics, Mount
Saint Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1995.
|
Applying fractal geometry to the analysis of marine
benthic populations. Symposium on Visual Thinking in Chaotic Dynamics,
National Science Foundation and University
of Maryland, Largo,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Complex spatial patterns and fractal geometry. Symposium
on Geometry in Nature: Forging the Connections in Mathematics, Eisenhower
Mathematics and Science Program, Shepherd
College, Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lessons from chaos theory: using fractal geometry to
understand seafloor spatial patterns. Chaos Theory Colloquium, Phi Beta
Kappa Society, Manassas,
Virginia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Population dynamics of benthic organisms in Chesapeake Bay. Workshop discussion, Benedict Estuarine
Research Center,
St. Leonard, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1996.
|
Interactions between mathematics and ecology: fractal
geometry of bivalve populations in Maine.
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hood
College, Frederick, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1997.
|
Analysis of seafloor bivalve population structure.
National Science Foundation Program in Science Education, Department of
Mathematics, Mount Saint Mary's College, Emmitsburg,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1998.
|
The ecology of spatially complex soft-bottom mussel beds
in Maine.
Darling Marine
Center, University
of Maine, Walpole, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
1999.
|
Benthic dispersal dynamics in shallow coastal systems. Dauphin Island
Sea Lab, Mobile, Alabama.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Local-scale dispersal dynamics in patchy seafloor
systems: intertidal examples from Maine, Virginia, and New Zealand. Department
of Biology, University of Delaware, Newark,
Delaware.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dynamics of spatial and temporal complexity in European and
North American soft-bottom mussel beds. Wadden
Sea Station, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Sylt, Germany.
|
|
|
|
|
2000.
|
Self-organization and the control of spatial and temporal
complexity in European and North American bivalve populations. Plenary
address, Tenth National Congress, Italian Society of Ecology, Pisa, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
2001.
|
Power laws and self-organized criticality: a marine
bivalve example. Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, University of Pisa,
Pisa, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Complexity and power laws in marine systems: a mussel
bed example from Maine, USA.
Department of Environmental Science, University
of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A cellular automata approach to modeling spatial
dynamics in marine bivalve populations. Department of Zoology and
Biological Anthropology, University of Sassari,
Sassari (Sardinia), Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fractal spatial patterns in marine bivalve populations.
Department of Animal Biology, University
of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Postlarval dispersal dynamics
in patchy seafloor systems of North America and New Zealand. Department
of Animal Biology, University of Palermo, Palermo,
Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Four-part lecture series, Environmental
Science Center,
University of Bologna, Ravenna,
Italy.
|
|
|
- Univariate
and multivariate analysis of meiofaunal
dispersal in the intertidal zone.
- Adult-larval interactions
in suspension-feeder assemblages: Mytilus
edulis beds as a model experimental
system.
- Postlarval
dispersal in soft-bottom intertidal communities.
- A cellular automata
approach to modeling seafloor spatial dynamics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Power-law evidence for scale-invariant spatial structure
and dispersal dynamics in dense assemblages of marine
suspension-feeders. Marine Laboratory, French
National Museum
of Natural History, Dinard, France.
|
|
|
|
|
2003.
|
Spatial complexity and scales of variability in
soft-bottom mussel beds: power-law evidence of self-organization.
Coastal Ecology Branch, Western Ecology Division, US Environmental
Protection Agency, Newport,
Oregon.
|
|
|
|
|
2004.
|
Self-organized criticality in ecological systems:
evidence from Maine
mussel beds. Department of Biology, Bates
College, Lewiston, Maine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005.
|
Spatial complexity, power-laws, and issues of scale in
marine benthic landscapes. Position paper, Landscape Scale
Biodiversity Assessment: the Problem of Scaling, European Platform for
Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS), Budapest, Hungary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"What's a nice bivalve like you doing in a place
like this?" Hierarchical spatial structure in soft-bottom mussel
beds. Special Session in honor of Richard Warwick, Benthic Ecology
Meetings, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007.
|
Hierarchical spatial complexity in soft-bottom mussel
beds: evidence for self-organization in the New
England intertidal zone.
The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008.
|
Do mussels self-organize into power-law clusters?
Evidence from Maine, USA. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn,
Naples, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Do
mussels self-organize into power-law clusters? Evidence from Maine,
USA. Ecology and Marine Biology Unit, Department of Biology,
University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009.
|
Self-organization and power-law clustering in seafloor
animals: the spatial ecology of mussel beds in Maine. Departments of
Biology, Computer Science, Geography and the Environment, and Mathematics,
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010.
|
Positive recruitment feedback and self-organization in
soft-bottom mussel beds. National Science Foundation Conference on
Dynamics of Layering in Biological Systems, California Institute of
Technology and California State University - Los Angeles, Pasadena,
California.
|
|
Conference
Presentations
|
1974.
|
Field experiments on benthic communities at Beaufort, North
Carolina. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University of Maryland,
College Park, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1975.
|
Population structure of annual, perennial, and fugitive
species in an estuarine community. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Duke University,
Beaufort, North Carolina.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Predation, competition, and the regulation of estuarine
soft-bottom community structure. Annual Meeting of the American Society of
Limnology and Oceanography, Dalhousie
University, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
1976.
|
Life-history strategies in marine benthic polychaetes and bivalves. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1979.
|
The effects of size-selective predation by Lunatia heros
on the population dynamics of Mya arenaria and Macoma
balthica. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University of New
Hampshire, Durham,
New Hampshire.
|
|
|
|
|
1980.
|
Nereis predation
controls soft-bottom community structure. Benthic Ecology Meetings, College of William
and Mary, Williamsburg,
Virginia.
|
|
|
|
|
1981.
|
A dense assemblage of suspension-feeding bivalves:
apparent absence of adult-larval interactions. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Yale University,
New Haven, Connecticut.
|
|
|
|
|
1982.
|
(with Patricia Shrader) Nereis revisited: surprising results from an infaunal predation experiment. Benthic Ecology
Meetings, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
|
|
|
|
|
1983.
|
The role of infaunal predation
in controlling community structure: evidence of a Nereis-Nephtys
interaction? Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida.
|
|
|
|
|
1984.
|
(with Irene Ulm) Patch utilization by infaunal organisms at Tom's Cove, Virginia. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Goucher College, Towson,
Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(with William Ambrose) Predatory infauna
and trophic complexity in soft-bottom communities. European Marine Biology
Symposium, Plymouth, England.
|
|
|
|
|
1986.
|
(with Laura Kane and Kathleen Reinsel)
Gemma gemma dispersal and patch utilization at
Tom's Cove, Virginia.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts.
|
|
|
|
|
1987.
|
(with E. Maxine Boncavage)
Experimental analysis of suspension-feeding bivalve effects on soft-bottom
community structure: more mussels means more
worms. Benthic Ecology Meetings, North Carolina
State University,
Raleigh, North Carolina.
|
|
|
|
|
1989.
|
(with Carol Anne Currier and Ann Commito) Field test of
a simple dispersal model of the bivalve Gemma gemma.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, Chesapeake
Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland.
|
|
|
|
|
1990.
|
(with Carol Anne Currier) Estimating bedload
transport: surprising results from a field test of sediment traps with
different aspect ratios. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Alabama
Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium, Mobile, Alabama.
|
|
|
|
|
1993.
|
(with Simon Thrush, Richard Pridmore,
Judi Hewitt, and Vonda Cummings) Benthic dispersal dynamics in Manukau Harbor,
New Zealand.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, Alabama Marine
Environmental Sciences Consortium, Mobile,
Alabama.
|
|
|
|
|
1995.
|
(with Jill Abrahamson and Derek Risso)
Benthic dispersal in a low-energy, soft-bottom environment. Benthic Ecology
Meetings, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New
Jersey.
|
|
|
|
|
1996.
|
(with Leslie Hornung) Depth
refuge allometry in the bivalves Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica. Benthic
Ecology Meetings, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(with James Manning) Postlarval
dispersal dynamics in a soft-bottom habitat. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University of South
Carolina, Columbia,
South Carolina.
|
|
|
|
|
1997.
|
(with Yvonne Werzinsky)
Passive bedload transport of harpacticoid
copepods in a Maine
coastal embayment. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of Maine, Portland, Maine.
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|
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(with John Badger and Koren Holland) Use of
mitochondrial DNA sequencing to determine genetic structure across spatial
scales in the brooding bivalve Gemma gemma.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of Maine, Portland, Maine.
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1998.
|
(with Holly Celico)
Differential Mytilus edulis
recruitment to artificial substrate in patches of bare sediment and
mussels. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida.
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(with Craig Johnson) Meiofauna
dispersal rates in bedload over a patchy mosaic
of bare sediment and mussels. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute
of Technology, Melbourne,
Florida.
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(with Brian Rusignuolo)
Structural complexity in mussel beds: is three-dimensional topography
fractal? Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida.
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|
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|
|
(with Amy Dickerson and Koren Holland) Genetic structure
across spatial scales in the brooding bivalve Gemma gemma.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida.
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|
(with Taryn Losch and Koren Holland) Is Gemma
gemma mtDNA inheritance
strictly maternal? Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida Institute of
Technology, Melbourne, Florida.
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1999.
|
(with Christopher Wahlers and Koren Holland) Genetic structure of Gemma gemma across spatial scales revealed by mtDNA sequencing. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
|
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|
|
|
|
(with Koren Holland,
Christopher Wahlers, Amy Dickerson, Taryn Losch, and John Badger)
Genetic structure of seafloor bivalve populations across spatial scales
using mitochondrial DNA sequencing. American Society of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, San
Francisco, California.
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2000.
|
(with Emily Celano) Postlarval macrofauna dispersal
in a two-habitat mosaic of bare sediment and
mussels. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina.
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|
|
|
|
(with Koren Holland, Mark Beckler, Carla Colicigno, and
James Gallagher) Sequencing beyond the
cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene in Gemma gemma.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, University of North
Carolina, Wilmington,
North Carolina.
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2002.
|
(with Emily Celano, Holly Celico, and Craig Johnson) Ecosystem engineers alter benthic
processes: Power law transport of sediment, larvae, and postlarvae
in a spatially complex mussel bed. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Florida State
University, Orlando, Florida.
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2003.
|
(with Piero Cossu, Marco Casu, Tiziana Lai, Ferruccio Maltagliata, and Alberto Castelli) Small-scale analysis
of genetic structure in Gemma gemma (Eulamellibranchia: Veneridae)
from Maine and Virginia as revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR)
markers.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut.
|
|
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|
|
(with Wendy Dow) From cores to counties: hierarchical
analysis of soft-bottom mussel ed spatial
structure across scales in Maine, USA.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of
Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(with Benjamin Grupe) Ecosystem engineer effects across
spatial scales on infauna and epifauna
in an exploited soft-bottom system: preliminary results from Maine mussel
beds. Benthic Ecology Meetings, University
of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut.
|
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|
|
(with Piero Cossu, Marco Casu, Tiziana Lai, Ferruccio Maltagliata, and Alberto Castelli)
Analisi della diversità genetica in Gemma Gemma (Eulamellibranchia: Veneridae) del Maine e della
Virginia (U.S.A.)
mediante marcatori ISSR
(Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat). Congresso Nazionale, Società Italiana di Ecologia, Como,
Italy.
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2004.
|
(with Ann Commito) Regulation of hierarchical spatial
pattern in mussel beds: empirical and cellular automaton evidence for
self-organized criticality. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Dauphin Island
Sea Lab, Mobile, Alabama.
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2005.
|
(with Stanislas Dubois, Frédéric Olivier, and Christian Retière)
Effect of shellfish farming on a unique biogenic habitat: oysters alter Sabellariid reefs in the Bay
of Mont Saint-Michel, France.
International Conference on Shellfish Restoration, Brest, France.
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2006.
|
(with Stanislas Dubois, Frédéric Olivier, and Christian Retière)
Anthropologic threats to a biogenic habitat: oysters and algae alter sabellariid reefs in the bay of Mont
Saint-Michel. Benthic Ecology Meetings,
Université Laval, Québec City, Canada.
|
|
|
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|
|
(with Wendy Dow, Benjamin Grupe, and Rutherford Platt) Multi-level modeling of nested
benthic samples: species relationships in mussel beds, a contested natural
resource in Maine.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, Université Laval,
Québec City, Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(with Ann Commito, Rutherford
Platt, Benjamin Grupe, and Wendy Dow) Species
relationships across spatial scales in spatially complex soft-bottom mussel
beds, an intertidal resource contested by draggers and diggers.
European Marine Biology Symposium, Cork,
Ireland.
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2007.
|
Substrate-specific attachment in soft-bottom mussel
beds: an explanation for spatial persistence? Benthic Ecology Meetings, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta,
Georgia.
|
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2008.
|
(with Tasha Gownaris) Are mussel beds selfish herds?
Mussels self-organize into fractal aggregations. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Brown
University, Providence, Rhode Island.
|
|
|
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|
|
(with Kyle Reeves) Foundation species effects on
substrate selection: epifaunal and infaunal amphipods respond differentially to mussel bed
biogenic structure and terrestrially-derived sediment. Benthic
Ecology Meetings, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
|
|
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|
|
|
(with Allison Vissichelli) Positive feedback and self-organization
in a soft-bottom system: mussel recruitment is greater to live mussels and
mussel shell hash than to terrestrially-derived gravel and muddy
sand. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Brown University, Providence, Rhode
Island.
|
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|
|
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(with Ann Commito) A simple complexity: the
self-organization of mussel beds. Annual Conference of the American
Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Washington, DC.
|
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2009.
|
(with
Ann Commito, Rutherford Platt, Benjamin Grupe, Wendy Dow, Natasha Gownaris,
Kyle Reeves, and Allison Vissichelli) Positive recruitment feedback and
self-organization in soft-bottom mussel beds. Benthic Ecology
Meetings, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas.
|
|
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|
|
|
(with
Christine Urbanowicz and Thomas Crawford)
Does wind-generated wave exposure
predict soft-bottom mussel bed (Mytilus
edulis) occurrence in Maine? Benthic
Ecology Meetings, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas.
|
|
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2010.
|
(with Danielle Bates, Sara Coleman, and Natasha
Gownaris) Predator chemical cues alter mussel self-organizing
aggregation rates and patch metrics. But so do non-predator
cues! Benthic Ecology Meetings, University of North Carolina,
Wilmington, North Carolina.
(with Sara Coleman, Danielle Bates, and Natasha
Gownaris) Predator and non-predator chemical cues alter mussel
self-organization into power-law clusters. Benthic Ecology Meetings,
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina.
|
|
2011.
2012.
|
(with Danielle Bates, Sara Coleman, and Natasha
Gownaris) Chemical cues, selfish herds, and power-law spatial structure in
Maine mussel beds. Benthic Ecology
Meetings, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mobile, Alabama.
(with Brittany Jones and Mitchell
Jones) Go with the flow: Biogenic
structure types alter bedload transport and
dispersal dynamics of macrofauna and meiofauna in Maine mussel beds. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Old Dominion
University, Norfolk, Virginia.
(with Mitchell Jones and Brittany Jones) Mussel beds are mostly…mud and shells,
not mussels! Ecosystem engineer cover types alter sediment, macrofauna, and meiofauna in
Maine, USA. Benthic Ecology
Meetings, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
(with Alyse
Yeager, Andrew Wilson, and Lin Schwarzkopf)
Catching cane toads: Determining biological differences in cane toad
(Rhinella marinus)
trappability and assessing the effect of acoustic
attractant position on cane toad capture rates. Organization of Fish and Wildlife
Information Managers Annual Conference, Austin, Texas.
(with Ann
Commito) Slip-sliding away: The
mathematics of slide rule calculation.
American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Annual
Conference, Jacksonville, Florida.
|
|
2013.
|
(with Ann
Commito) Slide rules rule! Association of Faculties for Advancement
of Community College Teaching Annual Conference: Flipped, Blended, Mobile,
Collaborative, and Flexible Approaches to Learning, Frederick, Maryland.
(with Brittany
Jones, Mitchell Jones, and Sondra Winders)
Reefer madness: Shell hash expands spatial extent of bivalve reef
impacts on ecosystem processes.
Benthic Ecology Meetings, Georgia Southern University, Savannah, Georgia.
(with Brittany Jones, Mitchell Jones,
and Sondra Winders) Live mussels and
shell hash alter sediment flux and macrofauna and
meiofauna dispersal. Benthic Ecology Meetings, Georgia
Southern University, Savannah, Georgia.
|
|
2014.
|
(with Sondra Winders, Brittany Jones,
Mitchell Jones, and Serena Como)
Wind forcing of sediment flux and post-larval transport in a patchy,
biogenically structured intertidal system. Benthic Ecology Meeting, University of
North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.
(with Sondra
Winders, Brittany Jones, Mitchell Jones, and Serena Como) “Gone, gone, gone”:
Legacy effects of mussel biogenic material on soft-bottom assemblages and
ecosystem processes. Benthic Ecology
Meeting, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.
|
Publications
|
Commito, J.
A. 1982. Importance of predation by infaunal
polychaetes in controlling the structure of a
soft-bottom community in Maine, USA. Marine
Biology 68: 77-81.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A. 1982. Effects of Lunatia
heros predation on the population dynamics of
Mya arenaria
and Macoma balthica
in Maine, USA. Marine Biology 69:
187-193.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and W. G. Ambrose, Jr. 1985. Predatory infauna
and trophic complexity in soft-bottom communities. Proceedings of the
Nineteenth European Marine Biology Symposium, pp. 323-333. Ed. by
P. E. Gibbs. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and W. G. Ambrose, Jr. 1985. Multiple trophic levels in
soft-bottom communities. Marine
Ecology Progress Series 26: 289-293.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and P. B. Shrader. 1985. Benthic
community response to experimental additions of the polychaete
Nereis virens.
Marine Biology 86: 101-107.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A. l987. Polinices predation
patterns and Mercenaria morphology
models. American Naturalist l29: 449-45l.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A. 1987. Adult-larval interactions: predictions, mussels, and
cocoons. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 25: 599-606.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and A. E. Commito. 1987. ENCOMPASSED: ENvironmental
COMPuter-ASSisted EDucation.
Statistics for field biologists. Software package and manual
published by Potomac Edison Company, Hagerstown,
Maryland.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and E. M. Boncavage. 1989. Suspension
feeders and coexisting infauna: an enhancement
counterexample. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
125: 33-42.
|
|
|
Gerhart, D. J., M. E. Bondura,
and J. A. Commito. 1991. Inhibition of sunfish feeding
by defensive steroids from aquatic beetles: structure-activity
relationships. Journal of Chemical Ecology 17: 1363-1370.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., C. A. Currier, L. R. Kane, K. A. Reinsel, and I. M. Ulm. 1995.
Dispersal dynamics of the bivalve Gemma gemma
in a patchy environment. Ecological Monographs 65: 1-20.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., S. F. Thrush, R. D. Pridmore, J. E. Hewitt,
and V. J. Cummings. 1995. Dispersal dynamics in a wind-driven
benthic system. Limnology and Oceanography 40: 1513-1518.
|
|
|
Snover, M. L., and J. A. Commito. 1998. The
fractal geometry of Mytilus edulis L. spatial distribution in a soft-bottom
system. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
223: 53-64.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and B. R. Rusignuolo. 2000.
Structural complexity in mussel beds: the fractal geometry of surface
topography. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 225:
133-152.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and N. Dankers. 2001. Dynamics of
spatial and temporal complexity in European and North American
soft-bottom mussel beds. In: Ecological Comparisons of
Sedimentary Shores. Ed. by K. Reise.
Springer-Verlag. Heidelberg, Germany.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., and G. Tita. 2002. Differential
dispersal rates in an intertidal meiofauna
assemblage. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 268:
237-256.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., E. A. Celano, H. J. Celico,
S. Como, and C. P. Johnson.
2005. Mussels matter: postlarval
dispersal dynamics altered by a spatially complex ecosystem
engineer. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
316: 133-147.
|
|
|
Casu, M., F. Maltagliata, P. Cossu, T. Lai, M. Curini Galletti, A. Castelli, and J. A. Commito. 2005.
Fine-grained genetic structure in the bivalve Gemma gemma from Maine
and Virginia (USA) as revealed by Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat
markers. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 325:
46-54.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., W. E. Dow, W. E., and B. M. Grupe. 2006. Hierarchical
spatial structure in soft-bottom mussel beds. Journal of
Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 330: 27-37.
|
|
|
Dubois, S.,
J. A. Commito, F. Olivier, and C. Retière.
2006. Effects of epibionts on Sabellaria alveolata
(L.) biogenic reefs and their associated fauna in the Bay of Moint Saint-Michel.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68: 635-646.
|
|
|
Crawford, T. W., J. A. Commito, A. B. Borowik. 2006. Fractal characterization of Mytilus edulis
L. spatial structure in intertidal landscapes using GIS methods. Landscape
Ecology 21: 1033-1044.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., S. Como, B. M. Grupe, and W. E. Dow.
2008. Species diversity in the soft-bottom intertidal
zone: biogenic structure, sediment, and macrofauna
across mussel bed spatial scales. Journal
of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 366: 70-81.
|
|
|
Gutiérrez, J.
L., C. G. Jones, J. E. Byers, K. K. Arkema, K. Berkenbusch,
J. A. Commito, C.
M. Duarte, S. D. Hacker, I. E. Hendriks,
P. J. Hogarth, J. G. Lambrinos, M. G. Palomo, and
C. Wild. 2011. Physical
ecosystem engineers and the functioning of estuaries and coasts, Chapter 5,
Volume 7: Functioning of Estuaries and Coastal Ecosystems. Ed.
by C. H. R. Heip, C. J. M., Philippart,
and J. J. Middelburg), Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science
(Series eds., E. Wolanski and D. McLusky). Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Yeager, A. D., J. A. Commito, A. Wilson,
L. Schwarzkopf, and D. Bower.
2014. Sex, light, and sound:
Location and combination of multiple attractants affect probability of cane
toad (Rhinella marina)
capture. Journal of Pest Science
87: 323-329.
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., A. E. Commito, R. V. Platt, B. M. Grupe, W. E. Dow, N. J. Gownaris, K.
A. Reeves, and A. M. Vissichelli. 2014. Self-organization in soft-bottom mussel
beds. Ecosphere 5:art160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00200.1
|
|
|
Commito, J.
A., N. J. Gownaris, D. E. Bates, S. E.
Coleman. 2015. Spatial
threat response in a marine bivalve: mussels self-organize into fractal
aggregations. In preparation.
|
|
Personal
Born: 23 April 1949, Everett,
Massachusetts.
Married: 1971, two daughters.
Interests: cooking, winter sports, sculpting, painting, collecting slide
rules.
Civic Service: Carteret County Migrant Worker Council (President); Catoctin
Land Trust Advisory Board; College Park Historic District Committee; Cornell
University Secondary Schools Admissions Committee; Crohn's
and Colitis Foundation of America Walkathon Organizer; Frederick Community
College Task Force on the Environment; Frederick Community Commons Advisory
Board; Frederick Peace Resource Center Board of Directors; Frederick Soup
Kitchen Volunteer; Gettysburg-Adams County Environmental Committee; Help-Line
Crisis Counselor; Maine State Legislative Select Committee on Marine
Research; Marshallberg Volunteer Fire Department;
Montgomery County Public Schools Global Studies Program Advisory Committee;
Montgomery County Technology Council; Parkway Elementary School PTA
(President); West Frederick Middle School PTA (President).
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