Dauphin Island Sea lab Students Receive Nelson Award from The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo

The 2005 recipients of the Nelson Award from the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR), sponsored by the Jaycees, are Ph.D. student John Higgins, III and M.S. student Lindsey Kramer, both of the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of South Alabama (USA) and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

The Nelson Award is named in honor of Dr. Gareth Nelson, former Curator of Fishes at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York.  Dr. Nelson was a frequent research presence in the ADSFR for over twenty years, collecting specimens, some of which were new species, for the AMNH.  His research renown helped the ADSFR gain national prominence.

The Nelson Award is given every year to a USA Marine Sciences Ph.D. student ($1,000) and an M.S. student ($500) whose research progress is outstanding.  John Higgins III, whose research has taken him as far away as Croatia, focuses on jellyfish reproductive behavior.  His dissertation is titled "Overcoming gamete dilution in free-spawning zooplankton: How the moon jellyfish, Aurelia sp., exploits the water column for fertilization success."

Lindsey Kramer's research centers around the effectiveness of marine protected areas.  Her thesis is "Has marine reserve protection made a difference?  Fish community structure, grazing intensity and coral recruitment on protected and fished patch reefs."