Coastal Marine Scholar - Dr. Tammy McGovern

The Sea Lab welcomes Dr. Tammy McGovern, the DISL's Coastal Marine Scholar.  Dr. McGovern received her Ph.D. from Florida State University and comes to the Sea Lab via post-doctorial stints at the Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory in Washington State and the Smithsonian's Boca del Toro Laboratory in Panama.

While an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, Dr. McGovern had the opportunity to spend a semester at the West Indies Lab in St. Croix, an experience that cemented her path to marine biology, and specifically, the study of marine invertebrates.  "I am interested in things that clone, like corals and seagrasses, and how cloning affects other aspects of their lives: sexual reproduction, evolution of the mating system, etc." she says.  "I am also interested in whether/ how organisms adjust their reproductive strategies to suit the conditions, that is, reproductive plasticity.   For example, do they change what they do, as conditions change, to get the most bang for their buck, energy investment-wise?"

When pressed as to what her favorite invertebrate is, Dr. McGovern laughs, "That must be like asking a parent to choosing a favorite from their kids!"  But she will venture that she is particularly fond of coral and anemones, "particularly the ones I have worked with," she notes, and the brittle star Ophiactis savignyi which she studies. "I also have a soft spot in my heart for things that are little and hidden that most people would pass right by," she adds.