Current and Ongoing Projects
Oysters being exposed to natural communities amended with cyanobacteria
Phytoplankton-Oyster Interactions and Coastal Restoration:
Dr. Stauffer is Lead PI of the LO-SPAT project, a $21M project focused on better understanding oyster tolerance to low salinity and applying that understanding to shellfish production and coastal restoration (website coming soon!). Our lab's contributions to this applied research project continues work we've started with oyster experts (see below) to understand how changes in oyster prey communities (i.e., phytoplankton) with salinity represent co-stressors to these important and tasty bivalves. This project is supported by LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and the Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority (CPRA).
In collaboration with oyster biologists at LSU and the USDA, we are also investigating the effects of changing environmental conditions and phytoplankton community composition - as predicted to occur with large-scale river diversions and ongoing climate change - on oyster feeding on those communities. A pilot version of this project was supported by the Institute of Coastal and Water Research (ICaWR) at UL Lafayette and a full project was supported by Louisiana Sea Grant College Program.
Dr. Stauffer is Lead PI of the LO-SPAT project, a $21M project focused on better understanding oyster tolerance to low salinity and applying that understanding to shellfish production and coastal restoration (website coming soon!). Our lab's contributions to this applied research project continues work we've started with oyster experts (see below) to understand how changes in oyster prey communities (i.e., phytoplankton) with salinity represent co-stressors to these important and tasty bivalves. This project is supported by LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and the Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority (CPRA).
In collaboration with oyster biologists at LSU and the USDA, we are also investigating the effects of changing environmental conditions and phytoplankton community composition - as predicted to occur with large-scale river diversions and ongoing climate change - on oyster feeding on those communities. A pilot version of this project was supported by the Institute of Coastal and Water Research (ICaWR) at UL Lafayette and a full project was supported by Louisiana Sea Grant College Program.
NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown ready for GOMECC-5 with a new paint job!
Phytoplankton communities, food webs, and changing oceans:
In collaboration with the NOAA AOML Lab in Miami, FL and researchers from multiple countries, we participated in the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystems and Carbon GOMECC-3 and GOMECC-4 cruises in 2017 and 2021. In Fall 2025 we will be participating in the GOMECC-5 cruise aboard the Ronald H. Brown and have set up a new page on this website to introduce y'all to our team and collaborators at NCSU and to provide updates as we prep for and are on the cruise. On these cruises our team collects samples to characterize the plankton communities throughout regimes of the Gulf affected by hypoxia, HABs, and ocean acidification. We also conduct grazing experiments to determine the relative effects of micro- and mesozooplankton grazing. This work has been supported by NOAA Ocean Acidification Program.
Changing phytoplankton communities and emerging HABs in Louisiana estuaries:
With over two years of spatial data and 5+ years of timeseries data, we are beginning to better understand how phytoplankton community structure in the highly river-influenced Atchafalaya-Vermilion Bay system respond to river influence, mixing, and changes in grazing pressure. We are also quantifying cyanobacteria toxins in these very low salinity estuaries, and results are suggesting that microcystins are often present and at non-negligible concentrations. This work is funded by Louisiana Sea Grant, USGS LWRRI (cyanotoxin project), with additional support from NOAA, the Cypremort Point Yacht Club, and LDWF.
More recently, we are collaborating with the state and contractors to quantify HAB taxa in the mid-Barataria Bay, an area that was slated to be impacted by a large sediment diversion. While that diversion has been cancelled, samples collected throughout 2025 from both regular monitoring and directed by satellite-detected biomass events of interest are providing more of a view of the prevalence of HAB taxa than ever before. This work is funded by the Louisiana CPRA.
In collaboration with the NOAA AOML Lab in Miami, FL and researchers from multiple countries, we participated in the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystems and Carbon GOMECC-3 and GOMECC-4 cruises in 2017 and 2021. In Fall 2025 we will be participating in the GOMECC-5 cruise aboard the Ronald H. Brown and have set up a new page on this website to introduce y'all to our team and collaborators at NCSU and to provide updates as we prep for and are on the cruise. On these cruises our team collects samples to characterize the plankton communities throughout regimes of the Gulf affected by hypoxia, HABs, and ocean acidification. We also conduct grazing experiments to determine the relative effects of micro- and mesozooplankton grazing. This work has been supported by NOAA Ocean Acidification Program.
Changing phytoplankton communities and emerging HABs in Louisiana estuaries:
With over two years of spatial data and 5+ years of timeseries data, we are beginning to better understand how phytoplankton community structure in the highly river-influenced Atchafalaya-Vermilion Bay system respond to river influence, mixing, and changes in grazing pressure. We are also quantifying cyanobacteria toxins in these very low salinity estuaries, and results are suggesting that microcystins are often present and at non-negligible concentrations. This work is funded by Louisiana Sea Grant, USGS LWRRI (cyanotoxin project), with additional support from NOAA, the Cypremort Point Yacht Club, and LDWF.
More recently, we are collaborating with the state and contractors to quantify HAB taxa in the mid-Barataria Bay, an area that was slated to be impacted by a large sediment diversion. While that diversion has been cancelled, samples collected throughout 2025 from both regular monitoring and directed by satellite-detected biomass events of interest are providing more of a view of the prevalence of HAB taxa than ever before. This work is funded by the Louisiana CPRA.
Rapid Plankton 3 cruise team (credit: S. Paxton)
Effects of Extreme Events on Plankton Food Webs:
Dr. Stauffer is a CoPI of the newly-launched NSF Research Coordination Network for Hurricane Ecosystem Response Synthesis (RCN-HERS) focused on synthesizing data and understanding of ecosystem responses to hurricanes. Check out the RCN-HERS website and stay tuned for collaborative webinars and workshops through the network. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
Previously, we worked with collaborators at UL Lafayette (Dr. Kelly Robinson), NC State University (Dr. Astrid Schnetzer), and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (Dr. Simon Geist), to understand how phytoplankton communities changed in the intermediate and mid-term aftermath of devastating Hurricane Harvey in 2017. In our own backyard, we also worked to assess the effects of the 2019 Mississippi River flood on plankton communities throughout the Atchafalaya-Vermilion Bay system and are using continuous monitoring data from Louisiana estuaries to look at extreme weather event responses across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Louisiana Sea Grant.
Dr. Stauffer is a CoPI of the newly-launched NSF Research Coordination Network for Hurricane Ecosystem Response Synthesis (RCN-HERS) focused on synthesizing data and understanding of ecosystem responses to hurricanes. Check out the RCN-HERS website and stay tuned for collaborative webinars and workshops through the network. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
Previously, we worked with collaborators at UL Lafayette (Dr. Kelly Robinson), NC State University (Dr. Astrid Schnetzer), and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (Dr. Simon Geist), to understand how phytoplankton communities changed in the intermediate and mid-term aftermath of devastating Hurricane Harvey in 2017. In our own backyard, we also worked to assess the effects of the 2019 Mississippi River flood on plankton communities throughout the Atchafalaya-Vermilion Bay system and are using continuous monitoring data from Louisiana estuaries to look at extreme weather event responses across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Louisiana Sea Grant.
Food Web Interactions Among Protists:
Protists are single-celled eukaryotes which include phytoplankton and many protistan consumers (e.g., "protozoa" or "microzooplankton"). As such, there are many interactions between these organisms in coastal marine food webs. Continuing work in the Stauffer Lab seeks to quantify the role protistan grazing of phytoplankton species plays in controlling biomass and composition of plankton communities in coastal marine ecosystems. Recent work by Ph.D. student Gulce Kurtay is teasing apart the relative contributions of different size-based groups of protistan consumers to the integrated grazing rates that we see in Louisiana estuarine and shelf ecosystems.
Protists are single-celled eukaryotes which include phytoplankton and many protistan consumers (e.g., "protozoa" or "microzooplankton"). As such, there are many interactions between these organisms in coastal marine food webs. Continuing work in the Stauffer Lab seeks to quantify the role protistan grazing of phytoplankton species plays in controlling biomass and composition of plankton communities in coastal marine ecosystems. Recent work by Ph.D. student Gulce Kurtay is teasing apart the relative contributions of different size-based groups of protistan consumers to the integrated grazing rates that we see in Louisiana estuarine and shelf ecosystems.
GOM monitoring partners in the learning how to operate the Systea WIZ Nitrate probe
Technologies to Support Coastal and Environmental Research:
As part of our ongoing collaboration with the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), we are working with colleagues to test sensors and toxin quantification methods that allow for more field-based and near-real-time detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Results of those tests are published as reports on the ACT website. We are also working with ACT, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) to implement a pilot network of nitrate sensors in the Gulf of Mexico. Data from the nitrate sensor deployed by Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is now available on the GCOOS website! Funding for these projects is provided by the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and GCOOS.
See information on past projects here.
As part of our ongoing collaboration with the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), we are working with colleagues to test sensors and toxin quantification methods that allow for more field-based and near-real-time detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Results of those tests are published as reports on the ACT website. We are also working with ACT, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) to implement a pilot network of nitrate sensors in the Gulf of Mexico. Data from the nitrate sensor deployed by Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is now available on the GCOOS website! Funding for these projects is provided by the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and GCOOS.
See information on past projects here.