Ken Dunton is a biological oceanographer whose research is focused on estuarine, coastal, and shelf processes. His continuous studies of the Arctic coastal ecosystem have spanned over four decades and over 3000 research dives. He first worked on the Beaufort Sea coast in 1977 as a graduate student and then dove in the Antarctic in 1989 and in 1996 - 1997 with a focus on benthic algal populations and trophic ecology. Ken is an avid swimmer, having swam competitively at the University of Maine (200 m butterfly). He loves to fly his Cessna-182RG, having earned his pilot’s license in 1980 in Washinton. Ken loves working with kids, having initiated and directed multiple K-12 programs from south Texas to Arctic Alaska. He obtained his B.S. in Biology from the University of Maine, his M.S. from Western Washington, and his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Ken is currently a professor in Marine Science at The University of Texas at Austin.
Coastal Ecosystem Processes:
Coastal marine systems, from tropical to polar latitudes, play critical roles in the global cycling of carbon, habitats for commercially important species of fish and shellfish, and as a hydrological link between terrestrial and oceanic environments. Research in Dunton’s Lab evaluates aspects of ecosystem resilience, in particular how changes in regional climate are redefining plant species composition, carbon storage, and benthic community structure. A strong research focus is how the transfer of carbon to the benthos affects the food web structure of our lagoons, bays, and estuaries. We use stable isotopic signatures to identify the major sources of organic carbon that are assimilated by consumers and look for patterns of dependence across broad geospatial scales.
Aquatic Plant Physiological Ecology:
Aquatic plants, including seaweeds (especially kelp), seagrasses, and emergent vascular plants all make major contributions to ecosystem productivity. Environmental factors (e.g. light, temperature, inorganic-C) ultimately play a significant role in regulating rates of carbon fixation, carbon storage, and ultimately, plant biomass. Our lab is particularly interested in the light and nutrient requirements for photosynthesis and growth and how environmental stressors regulate the overall productivity and distribution of these foundation species.
Current funded projects include:
In the Arctic, (1) studies that examine the linkages between watersheds and shelf ecosystems of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea to specifically address whether terrestrial subsidies of carbon from run-off and erosion are incorporated into Arctic lagoon and coastal food webs (see https://ble.lternet.edu, (2) the benthic community structure and trophic energetics of the Chukchi Sea ecosystem (see: http://arcticstudies.org/index.html and (3) the biology of an isolated Arctic kelp community in the Beaufort Sea (see: http://arcticstudies.org/boulderpatch/
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In the Gulf of Mexico, (1) a coast-wide seagrass monitoring program in Texas(see www.texasseagrass.org), (2) the development of indicators of seagrass condition and ecosystem function based on plant and water quality indices, and (3) the effect of drought and freshwater inflows on the production ecology of a subtropical estuarine marsh and mangrove systems based on measurements of in situ photosynthesis and respiration of emergent vascular plants.
