Curriculum Vitae

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Spencer J. Tassone

Postdoctoral Scholar

Department of Biological Sciences

Michigan Technological University

sjtassone1@gmail.com | spencertassone.com

Education

2023 Ph.D. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia (Advisor: Dr. Michael Pace)

• Dissertation Title: Quantifying Heatwaves and Seagrass Recovery Dynamics in Aquatic Ecosystems

2019 Graduate Certificate - Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Virginia Commonwealth University

2017 M.S. Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University (Advisor: Dr. Paul Bukaveckas)

• Thesis Title: A Comparison of Computation Methods for Estimating Estuarine Production and Respiration from Diel Open Water Dissolved Oxygen Measurements

2014 B.S. Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University

2011 A.S. Social Science, Tidewater Community College

Professional Experience

2023 - Present Postdoctoral Scholar - Michigan Technological University

2019 - 2023 Research & Teaching Assistant - University of Virginia

2017 - 2019 Research Specialist - Virginia Commonwealth University

2015 - 2017 Research & Teaching Assistant - Virginia Commonwealth University

2013 - 2015 Scientific Aide - Virginia Commonwealth University

Awards and Honors

2023 Student Excellence Award

• University of Virginia - Department of Environmental Sciences

2023 Rath Public Service Focused Research Award

• University of Virginia

2022 Trout Unlimited Award

• Trout Unlimited - Thomas Jefferson Chapter

2022 Certified Ecologist

• Ecological Society of America

2020 Editor's Choice Paper

• Estuaries & Coasts, Vol. 43, Iss. 7

2017 Outstanding Biology Masters Student in Ecology

• Virginia Commonwealth University - College of Humanities and Sciences

2017 Runner-Up Best Environmental Science Paper 2016

• Environmental Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b01464

2017 Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society, St. Mary's, MD

2017 Fundamentals of Ecosystem Ecology Certificate

• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY

2014 Leo Bourassa Scholarship

• Virginia Lakes and Watershed Association

2014 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society, Ocean City, MD

2014 Academic Achievement Award

• Virginia Commonwealth University

Publications

• Tassone, S. J., C. J. Ewers Lewis, K. J. McGlathery, M. L. Pace. Seagrass ecosystem recovery: experimental removal and synthesis of disturbance studies. Limnology & Oceanography, In press.

• Tassone, S. J., and M. L. Pace. Increased frequency of sediment heatwaves in a Virginia seagrass meadow. Estuaries and Coasts, 2024, 47: 656-669, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01314-7

• Buelo, C. D., A. F. Besterman, J. A. Walter, M. L. Pace, D. T. Ha, S. J. Tassone. Quantifying disturbance and recovery in estuaries: tropical cyclones and high frequency measures of oxygen and salinity. Estuaries and Coasts, 2023, 47: 18-31, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01255-1

• Graham, O. J., A. Al-Haj, [and 35 others including S. J. Tassone]. Better Together: Early career aquatic scientists forge new connections at Eco-DAS XV. Limnology & Oceanography Bulletin, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1002/lob.10585

• Batiuk, R., K. Brownson, W. Dennison, M. Ehrhart, J. Hanson, R. Hanmer, B. Landry, J. Reichert-Nguyen, J. Soueidan, S. J. Tassone, B. Vogt, B. 2023. Rising Watershed and Bay Water Temperatures: Ecological Implications and Management Responses – A STAC Workshop. STAC Publication Number 23-001. Edgewater, MD

• Tassone, S. J., A. Besterman, C. Buelo, D. Ha, J. Walter, M. L. Pace. Increasing heatwave frequency in streams and rivers of the United States. Limnology & Oceanography Letters, 2022, 8(2): 295-304, https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10284

• Walter, J., A. Besterman, C. Buelo, S. J. Tassone, J. Atkins, M. L. Pace. An algorithm for detecting and quantifying disturbance and recovery in high-frequency time series. Limnology & Oceanography: Methods, 2022, 20: 338-349, https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10490

• Tassone, S. J., A. Besterman, C. Buelo, J. Walter, M. L. Pace. Co-occurrence of aquatic heatwaves with atmospheric heatwaves, low dissolved oxygen, and low pH events in estuarine ecosystems. Estuaries and Coasts, 2022, 45: 707-720, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-01009-x

• Bukaveckas, P. A., S. J. Tassone, W. Lee, R. B. Franklin. The influence of storm events on metabolism and water quality of riverine and estuarine segments of the James, Mattaponi, and Pamunkey Rivers. Estuaries and Coasts, 2020, 43(7): 1585-1602, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00819-9

• Tassone, S. J., P. A. Bukaveckas. Seasonal, inter-annual and longitudinal patterns in estuarine metabolism derived from diel oxygen data using multiple computational approaches. Estuaries and Coasts, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00526-0

• Bukaveckas, P. A., R. Franklin, S. J. Tassone, B. Trache, T. Egerton. Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins at the river-estuarine transition. Harmful Algae, 2018, 76: 11-21, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2018.04.012

• McGarvey, D. J., M. Menon, T. Woods, S. J. Tassone, J. Reese, M. Vergamini, E. Kellogg. On the use of climate covariates in aquatic species distribution models: are we at risk of throwing the baby out? Ecography, 2018, 41: 695-712, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03134

• Bukaveckas, P. A., J. Lesutienė, Z.R. Gasiūnaitė, L. Ložys, I. Olenina, R. Pilkaitytė, Ž. Pūtys, S. J. Tassone, J. Wood. Microcystin in aquatic food webs of the Baltic and Chesapeake Bay regions. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science, 2017, 191: 50-59, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2017.04.016

• Moy, N. J, J. Dodson, S. J. Tassone, L. P. Bulluck, P.A. Bukaveckas. Export of an algal toxin into riparian food webs. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, 50 (18): 10007-10014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02760

Grants & Fellowships

2023 Project Collaborator: Coastal Marine Heatwave Interdisciplinary Research Group

• Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (€10,000)

2023 Project Collaborator: Spatiotemporal patterns of aquatic heatwaves in western US rivers

• University of California, Davis - Center for Watershed Sciences ($38,000)

2023 Eco-DAS XV Fellow

• National Science Foundation, Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography

2022 Kenneth L. Bazzle Dissertation Year Fellow

• Jefferson Scholars Foundation ($43,180)

Scientific Media

2024 UVA Office of Advancement: Testing the Waters

2023 Environmental Professional's Radio: Heatwaves, Researching, and Shiny Apps with Spencer Tassone.

2023 Utah Public Radio, Undisciplined: Here's why heatwaves in our rivers are increasing - and why that's a problem.

2023 UVA News, Q&A: As rivers recover from last year's drought, winter may pose untold threats.

2023 Chesapeake Bay Journal: The heat is on: Warming water threatens aquatic life in Chesapeake Bay region.

2022 Fox Weather: Heatwaves in U.S. rivers are on the rise, new study says.

2022 Cavalier Daily: Extreme temperatures in rivers could foreshadow environmental damage in Charlottesville.

2022 Science News Magazine: Heatwaves in U.S. rivers are on the rise. Here's why that's a problem.

2021 The Coastal Current Podcast: Episode 3 - Coastal Heatwaves

2016 VCU News: Nature Walks: Out and about with researchers at VCU Rice Rivers Center.

Scientific Presentations

2024 Tassone, S. J. Impact of aquatic heatwaves on river metabolism in the United States

• Society for Freshwater Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

2023 Tassone, S. J. Ecological implications of increasing heatwaves in streams and rivers of the United States

• Dan River Basin Association Meeting, Martinsville, VA

2023 Tassone, S. J. Increasing heatwave frequency in streams and rivers of the United States

• Southern Division American Fisheries Society Meeting, Norfolk, VA

2022 Tassone, S. J. Extreme events in relation to aquatic ecosystem resilience: heatwaves & seagrass disturbance

• Jefferson Scholar Fellows Symposium, Charlottesville, VA

2022 Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. Seagrass resilience experiment

• Long Term Ecological Research Network – All Scientist Meeting, Pacific Grove, CA

• VCR Longer Term Ecological Research Network – Mid-term Review, Virtual

2022 Brownson, K., S. J. Tassone. Ecological implications for rising stream and river water temperature in the watersheds of Chesapeake Bay

• Chesapeake Bay Program – Climate Resiliency Workgroup Meeting, Virtual

2020 Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. Linkage between atmospheric heatwaves, estuarine heatwaves, and water quality

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Fall Meeting, Virtual

• UVA Global Water Initiative, Virtual

2018 Tassone, S. J. Water quality of the James River

• VCU Rice Rivers Center, Charles City, VA

2017 Tassone, S. J. and P. A. Bukaveckas. Presence and persistence of the cyanotoxin Microcystin in aquatic and riparian consumers

• 9th US Symposium on Harmful Algae, Baltimore, MD

2017 Tassone, S. J. and P. A. Bukaveckas. Seasonal and interannual variation in metabolism of the tidal freshwater James River

• VCU Rice Rivers Center, Charles City, VA

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, St. Mary’s, MD

2016 Moy, N. J. J. Dodson, S. J. Tassone, P. A. Bukaveckas, L. P. Bulluck. Biotransport of algal toxins to riparian consumers

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, Baltimore, MD

2016 Tassone, S. J. and P. A. Bukaveckas. Estuarine metabolism and zooplankton dynamics in the tidal freshwater segment of the James River, VA

• • • • • • • VCU Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium, Charles City, VA

            • Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, Virginia Beach, VA

2015 Tassone, S. J., J. Lesutienė, Z. Gasiūnaitė, L. Ložys, R. Pilkaitytė, Ž. Pūtys and P.A. Bukaveckas. Algal toxins in the food chain – a comparative study of Chesapeake Bay and Baltic coastal food webs

• Virginia Association of Wetland Professionals, Richmond, VA

• Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, Portland, OR

• VCU Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium, Charles City, VA

2014 Tassone, S. J., P. A. Bukaveckas, J. Wood. Effects of dissolved and dietary Microcystin on clearance rates of Wedge Clams (Rangia cuneata) in the tidal fresh James River

• Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting, Ocean City, MD

Public Datasets

• Tassone, S. J. 2023. Sediment elevation transects for the Seagrass Recovery Experiment, South Bay, VA 2022 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/c39278c86fe45533e5ffb00371c1846c

• Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. 2023. Literature survey of seagrass disturbance-recovery studies up to May 2022 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/180693d22a3eb8c16b1092e7fa7a3e31

• Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. 2023. High-frequency water and sediment temperature from the Seagrass Recovery Experiment, South Bay, VA 2020-2022 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9d0556bf46a3a79b6bde96003529f407

• Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. 2023. Seagrass shoot density and benthic chlorophyll density from the Seagrass Recovery Experiment, South Bay, VA 2020-2022 ver 2. Environmental Data Initiative. http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/ab8241aa642bd1d83adbd823f42526b4

• Tassone, S. J. and M. L. Pace. 2023. Surface water quality from the Seagrass Recovery Experiment, South Bay, VA 2020-2022 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/2c72655635d341114648e73834c52d73

Teaching Experience

• Ecology Lab: Prepared and presented lectures, led undergraduate students in fieldwork, laboratory, and virtual exercises on data collection, statistical analyses, data interpretation, and scientific writing, and provided written feedback on lab reports (VCU & UVA)

• Ecosystem Ecology: Provided 1-on-1 instructional support to graduate and undergraduate students, lead discussion groups, and graded course material and exams (VCU & UVA)

• Ecotechniques: Trained undergraduate students how to quantify aquatic metabolism using the light & dark bottle technique with Winkler titration (VCU)

• Limnology: Provided 1-on-1 instructional support to graduate and undergraduate students, lead discussion groups, and graded course material and exams (UVA)

• River & Estuarine Ecology - Provided 1-on-1 instructional support to graduate and graded course material and exams (VCU).

• Water: Invited to prepare and present a 50-min lecture on seagrass ecology (VCU)

• Water Pollution Biology: Invited to prepare and present two 50-min lectures on aquatic toxicology (VCU)

• Writing and Critical Inquiry: Invited to prepare and present a 20-min lecture on developing a research question (UVA)

Professional Service

Ongoing Reviewer – Environmental Science & Technology, Limnology & Oceanography: Methods, Estuarine Coastal & Shelf Science

2024 Search Committee Member for Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Estuaries and Coasts

2020 - 2023 Website Manager - UVA Dept. of Environmental Sciences

2017 - 2019 Website Manager - Atlantic Estuarine Research Society

2016 - 2017 Student Representative - Atlantic Estuarine Research Society

2016 - 2017 Vice President - VCU Graduate Organization of Biology Students