Kelly M. Darnell The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 Office: 228-872-4278; Cell: 270-991-7259; Email: [email protected] EDUCATION Ph.D., Marine Science, The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 M.S., Marine Science, University of South Alabama, 2008 B.A., Biology (Marine Science minor), Wittenberg University, 2005 RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2019–Present Director, Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence 2017–Present Assistant Research Professor, Division of Coastal Sciences, School of Ocean Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi 2017–2019 Deputy Director, Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence 2015–2016 Resarch Scientist, The Water Institute of the Gulf 2015–2016 Deputy Director, RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana 2014–2016 Visiting Scientist, Nicholls State University 2014–2015 Postdoctoral Fellow, The Water Institute of the Gulf 2008–2009 Research Technician I, Duke University PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS Google Scholar Gorham S, S Seyoum, BT Furman, KM Darnell, LK Reynolds, MD Tringali. In revision. Molecular detection of a non-native hybrid eelgrass (Vallisneria spiralis Linnaeus x V. denseserrulata Makino) in the southeastern United States Carruthers TJB, EP Kiskaddon, MM Baustian, KM Darnell, LC Moss, CL Perry, C Stagg. In revision. Integrating stakeholder prioritized habitat suitability models to assess tradeoffs in habitat value for management decision making Wiesenberg DA, B Shipp, J Fodrie, S Powers, J Lartigue, KM Darnell, MM Baustian, C Ngo, JF Valentine, K Wowk. 2021. Prospects for Gulf of Mexico environmental recovery and restoration. Oceanography (Special Issue on the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative: Ten Years of Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science) 34: 164-173 Belgrad BA, KM Correia, KM Darnell, MZ Darnell, CT Hayes, MO Hall, BT Furman, CW Martin, DL Smee. 2021. Environmental drivers of seagrass-associated nekton abundance across the norther Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-00927-0 Darnell KM, BT Furman, KL Heck Jr., D Byron, L Reynolds, KH Dunton. 2021. Seed reserve hot spots for the sub-tropical seagrass Halodule wrightii (shoal grass) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts 44: 339-351 doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00808-y Shakeri LM, KM Darnell, TJB Carruthers, MZ Darnell. 2020. Blue crab abundance, biomass, and survival in a fragmenting coastal marsh system. Estuaries and Coasts 43: 1545-1555 doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00738-9 Darnell MZ, KM Darnell. 2018. Geographic variation in thermal tolerance and morphology in a fiddler crab sister-species pair. Marine Biology 165: 26 doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3282-y Tinoco AL, BT Furman, KM Darnell, BJ Peterson. 2017. Submerged aquatic vegetation, topography and flow characteristics in the upper, tidal Hudson River: progress toward a predictive habitat model. Aquatic Botany 142: 53-60 doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2017.06.006 Jerabek AS, KM Darnell, C Pellerin, TJB Carruthers. 2017. Use of marsh edge and submerged aquatic vegetation as habitat by fish and crustactans in south Louisiana. Southeastern Geographer (Special Issue: Coastal Seagrass and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico) 57: 212-230 doi.org/10.1353/sgo.2017.0022 Cho J, P Biber, KM Darnell, KH Dunton. 2017. Seasonal and annual dynamics in seagrass beds of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi. Southeastern Geographer (Special Issue: Coastal Seagrass and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico) 57: 246-272 doi.org/10.1353/sgo.2017.0024 Darnell KM, TJB Carruthers, P Biber, IY Georgiou, TC Michot, RG Boustany. 2017. Spatial and temporal patterns in Thalassia testudinum leaf tissue nutrients at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA. Estuaries and Coasts 40: 1288-1300 link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12237-017-0229-y.pdf Darnell KM, KH Dunton. 2017. Plasticity in turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) flower production in response to porewater nitrogen availability. Aquatic Botany 138: 100-106 dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2017.01.007 Darnell KM, KH Dunton. 2016. Reproductive phenology of the subtropical seagrasses Thalassia testudinum (turtle grass) and Halodule wrightii (shoal grass) in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Botanica Marina 59: 473-483 doi.org/10.1515/bot-2016-0080 Darnell KM, DM Booth, EW Koch, KH Dunton. 2015. The interactive effects of water flow and reproductive strategies on seed and seedling dispersal along the substrate in two sub-tropical seagrass species. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 471: 30-40 sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098115001240 Darnell KM, KH Dunton. 2015. Consumption of turtle grass seedlings by crabs in the western Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 520: 153-163 int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v520/p153-163/ KM Darnell, CV, Updated July 2021 2 Steele L, KM Darnell, J Cebrian, JL Sanchez-Lizaso. 2014. Sarpa salpa herbivory on shallow reaches of Posidonia oceanica beds. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 37.1: 49-57 raco.cat/index.php/ABC/article/view/278390 Darnell KM, KL Heck Jr. 2013. Species-specific effects of prior grazing on the palatability of turtle grass. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 440: 225–232 sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098112004248 Osterberg JS, KM Darnell, TM Blickley, JA Romano, D Rittschof. 2012. Acute toxicity and sublethal effects of common pesticides in post-larval and juvenile blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 424-425: 5–14 sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098112001694 Rittschof D, MZ Darnell, KM Darnell, M Goldman, M Ogburn, RE McDowell. 2011. Estimating relative abundance of the female blue crab spawning stock in North Carolina. In: Kruse, GH, GL Eckert, RJ For, RN Lipcius, B Sainte-Marie, DL Stram, D Woodby (eds) Biology and Management of Exploited Crab Populations Under Climate Change. Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Fairbanks seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/item.php?id=11471 Darnell MZ, KM Darnell, RE McDowell, D Rittschof. 2010. Post-capture survival and future reproductive potential of ovigerous blue crabs caught in the central North Carolina pot fishery. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 139: 1677–1687 www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/T10-034.1 Darnell MZ, D Rittschof, KM Darnell, RE McDowell. 2009. Lifetime reproductive potential of female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, in North Carolina. Marine Ecology Progress Series 394: 153–163 int-res.com/articles/meps2009/394/m394p153.pdf McKay KM, KL Heck Jr. 2008. Presence of the Jonah Crab, Cancer borealis, significantly reduces kelp consumption by the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 356: 295–298 int-res.com/articles/meps2008/356/m356p295.pdf OTHER PUBLICATIONS Wang H, NM Enwright, KM Darnell, MK La Peyre, J Cebrian, S-C Kim, B Bunch, SJ Stelly, B Couvillion, S Dalyander, RC Mickey, M Segura. 2020. Seagrass Habitat Suitability Modeling for the Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Assessment at Dauphin Island. In: Enwright, N.M., Wang, H., Dalyander, S.P., and Godsey, E., eds., Predicting barrier island habitats and oyster and seagrass habitat suitability for various restoration measures and future conditions for Dauphin Island, Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Open- File Report 2020–1003, 99p. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201003 Darnell KM, DJ Reed, CG Groat, eds. 2016. RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana Research Strategy. The Water Institue of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, LA Darnell KM, DJ Reed, CG Groat. 2016. RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana Standard Operating Procedures. The Water Institue of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, LA KM Darnell, CV, Updated July 2021 3 Darnell KM, KH Dunton. 2010. Baseline studies of seagrass condition and water quality in East Flats, Corpus Christi Bay: summer and fall 2010. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Biological Report. Contract #10-049-000-3745 GRANTS RECEIVED (Total: $5,637,328, As Lead PI: $5,133,380) A decision-driven integrated ecosystem approach to maximize benefits of barrier island restoration and management of the Chandeleur Islands for seagrass and associated communities, NOAA RESTORE Science Program, PI with T.J.B. Carruthers, P. Dalyander, J. Hemming, A. Howard, M. Miner and L. Reynolds, 2021–2022, $127,065 Gulf of Mexico Sea Level Rise Regional Workshop, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation- Sponsored Regional Workshops, Co-PI with M. La Peyre, J.W. Pahl, R. Collini, 2021, $2,000 Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (MBRACE) Research Grants Program, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, PI, 2020–2023, $3,683,974 Establishing a network of continuous water quality sensors at the Chandeleur Islands, LA, Coypu Foundation, Co-PI with M.Z. Darnell, 2019–2020, $80,870 Impacts of Hurricane Michael on Gulf seagrass ecosystems (supplemental funding to “Gulf-wide assessment of habitat use and habitat-specific production estimates of nekton in turtlegrass”), NOAA RESTORE Science Program, PI with M.Z. Darnell, D.L. Smee, C.W. Martin, M.O. Hall, 2019–2020, $155,538 Impacts of Bonnet Carré Spillway on seagrass distribution and condition at Cat Island, Mississippi (supplemental funding to “Monitoring seagrass distribution and condition at Cat Island, Mississippi”), Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, PI, 2019–2020, $6,500 Identifying patterns and