 |
My research centers on physiological ecology,
reproductive biology, demographics, and clonal biology of seagrasses.
For the past 10 years, I have been involved in shoot-level to landscape-level
studies of the subtropical seagrass communities of South Florida
and the Gulf of Mexico. This research in Florida Bay was initiated
in response to the catastrophic die-offs of seagrasses, initiated
in the late 1980s, and water-quality concerns in Florida Bay and
the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Shoot-level studies
have examined effects of high light and light reduction, salinity
changes, and microbial infection on physiological and demographic
characteristics of seagrasses. The landscape-level research has
provided spatially-explicit distribution, abundance, and structural
data to assess responses of benthic macrophyte communities to possible
future management alterations in the South Florida ecosystem. Related
seagrass research has been directed towards the assessment of potential
macrophyte-based ecoindicators of estuarine condition, development
of biotechnological approaches to wetland restoration, and examination
of the stress responses of seagrass communities.
Recently, I have initiated several research efforts dealing with
light and photosynthesis in aquatic systems. Work in S.E. North
Carolina has focused on an examination of the spatial and temporal
variability in the bio-optical properties of the Cape Fear River
plume and the coastal waters of Onslow Bay. This work has involved
spectral analyses of inherent and apparent optical properties of
coastal waters using ship-board and lab-based instrumentation and
satellite data. Work in south Florida has investigated the effects
of light on photosynthetic characteristics and distribution patterns
of seagrasses in Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay and along the lagoons
systems of eastern Florida. These studies have revealed the presence
of ‘sunscreen’ pigments in a shallow-distributed seagrass
that may allow this species to exploit intertidal areas without
competing seagrasses. With the introduction of optically-based field
instrumentation to measure photosynthetic characteristics, I have
begun research in the area of plant bio-optics to better understand
how light interacts with photosynthetic organisms.
Durako, M. J. 2007. Leaf optical properties and leaf-specific photosynthetic absorptances in several Australian seagrasses. Aquatic Botany 87: 83-89.
Dean, R. J., Durako, M. J. 2007. Physiological integration in the threatened seagrass Halophila johnsonii Eiseman. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(1):21-35.
Ralph, P.J, Durako, M. J., Enriquez, S., Collier, C., Doblin, M.A. 2007. Impact of light limitation on seagrasses. Journal Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology, 350-176-193.
Belshe, E. F., M. J. Durako, and J.E. Blum. 2007. Photosynthetic rapid light curves (RLC) of Thalassia testudinum exhibit diurnal variation. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 342: 253-268.
Kowalczuk, P. Durako, M.J., Cooper, W.J., Wells, D., Souza, J.J. 2006. Comparison of radiometric quantities measured in water and above water and derived from SeaWiFS imagery in the South Atlantic Bight. Continental Shelf Research 26: 2433-2453.
Lin, J., Xie, L., Pietrafesa, L.J., Shen, J., Mallin, M., Durako, M. 2006. Dissolved oxygen stratification in two micro-tidal partially-mixed estuaries. Est. Coastal Shelf Sci. 70: 423-437
Kahn, A. E. And M. J. Durako. 2006. Thalassia testudinum seedling responses to changes in salinity and nitrogen. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 335: 1-12.
Kahn, A. E. And M. J. Durako. 2005. The effect of salinity and ammonium on seed germination in Ruppia maritima L. From Florida Bay. Bull. Mar. Sci. 77(3): 453-458.
Torquemada, Y. F., Durako, M. J., Lizaso, J. L. S. 2005. Salinity effects and possible interactions with pH and temperature on photosynthesis and growth of Halophila johnsonii Eiseman. Mar. Biol. 148: 251-260.
Kunzelman, J. I., Durako, M. J., Kenworthy, W. J., Stapleton, A., Wright, J. C. L. 2005. Irradiance-induced changes in the photobiology of Halophila johnsonii Eiseman. Mar. Biol. 148: 241-250.
Kowalczuk, P., J. Stoń-Egiert, W.J Cooper, R.F. Whitehead, and M.J. Durako. 2005. Characterization of CDOM in the Baltic Sea by excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy. Marine Chemistry 96: 273-292.
Van Sluyter, S., M.J. Durako, and C. J. Halkides. 2005. Chitinase activities in Vitis vinifera cvs Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon berries are significantly higher than in Vitis rotundifolia cv Fry berries. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 56(1):81-85.
Hackney, J. W. and M. J. Durako. 2005. A hierarchical approach to the evaluation of variability in ecoindicators of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum. In: S.A. Bortone (ed) Estuarine Indicators, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 175-192.
Durako, M. J. and J. W. Hackney. 2004. Size-frequency patterns in morphometric characteristics of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum reflect environmental variability. Ecological Indicators 4: 55-71.
Runcie, J. W. and M. J. Durako. 2004. Among-shoot variability and leaf-specific absorptance characteristics affect diel estimates of in situ electron transport of Posidonia australis. Aquatic Botany 80: 209-220.
Whitfield, P. E., W. J. Kenworthy, M. J. Durako, K. K. Hammerstrom, and, M. F. Merello. 2004. Recruitment of Thalassia testudinum seedlings into physically disturbed seagrass beds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 267: 121-131.
Mallin, M. A. Mallin, L. B. Cahoon, and, M. J. Durako. 2004. Contrasting food-web support bases for adjoining river-influenced and non-river influenced continental shelf ecosystems. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 62: 55-62.
Durako, M. J., J. I. Kunzelman,
W. J. Kenworthy, and K. K. Hammerstrom. 2003. Depth-related variability
in the photobiology of Halophila johnsonii and Halophila decipiens.
Marine Biology 142: 1219- 1228.
Murphy, L. R., S. T. Kinsey, and M. J. Durako. 2003. Physiological
effects of short-term salinity changes on Ruppia maritima. Aquat.
Bot. 75: 293-309.
Durako, M. J., and J. I. Kunzelman.
2002. Photosynthetic characteristics of Thalassia testudinum Banks
ex König measured in situ by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM)
fluorometry: methodological and scale-based considerations. Aquat.
Bot. 73: 173-185.
|
