Oh what a tangled web...
Dr. John Valentine Examines the Intricacies of the Food Web Interactions in the Marine Environment

Ask any resident or visitor to the Gulf Coast what attracts him/her to the area, and chances are seafood will be near the top of the list. The abundance of fresh shrimp, fish and other creatures has always been a major economic factor, both as a temptation for tourists and as a commercial mainstay for career fishermen. But are we taking that bounty for granted? Will it be with us much longer? Dr. John Valentine and his students have been examining the factors that control the productivity of Alabama’s coastal waters, and the degree to which humans have altered marine food webs.

Dr. Valentine’s work is closely connected with the local ecosystem, and colleagues and lay people alike praise him for his intimate knowledge of the area. Fellow Sea Lab scientist Dr. Rich Aronson states, "John knows the local marine fauna better than anyone else currently on staff at the Sea Lab. He thinks deeply about how	Dr. John Valentine explains marine instrumentation to participants of the REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) Program.
populations in the Delta, the Bay and beyond interact with each other and with the human population to form an integrated, evolving system."

Evolving is a good way to describe Dr. Valentine himself. Before becoming a researcher at the Sea Lab, he spent much of his early adult life in the "real" world. His experiences in this previous life included serving in the U.S. Army in 1970 and 1971, a brief stint as a college football player, and working for the Ecological Services Branch of Texas Instruments during late 70’s and early 80’s when the government and nuclear power industry sponsored extensive research projects throughout the U.S. After some time, the money diminished and the questions seem dull, leading Dr. Valentine to enroll in the PhD Program at the University of Alabama where he ultimately earned a PhD in 1989 under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Hopkins, a former Sea Lab faculty member and professor emeritus.

Dr. Valentine surveying coral reefs in Belize (photo by Richard B. Aronson)		He continued at the Sea Lab conducting postdoctoral research with Dr. Ken Heck, whom he considers a mentor in terms of investigating seagrass food webs. Dr. Valentine eventually came on board as a Sea Lab faculty member. States Dr. Heck, "It has been very gratifying to see John develop from his graduate school days into a strong,
independent scientist with a research program at the forefront of the fields of marine ecology and marine conservation biology.

John is well known internationally for his work on seagrass meadows, and he is increasingly sought out by a variety of journals and granting agencies for his expertise. And the best part is that he is nowhere near the peak of his productivity, so we can expect an even greater contribution from John in the years to come."

As a faculty member, Dr. Valentine has not only made his impact as a researcher and educator, but has also drawn upon his past experience as a consultant to affect policy. He was instrumental in bringing the National Estuary Program to Mobile Bay. Sea Lab Executive Director Dr. George Crozier recalls:

"In the wake of one of the worst water pollution summers (1993) that Mobile Bay had experienced in many years, the Sea Lab entered into a formal relationship with the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission to provide technical assistance in matters of ecosystem analysis and management. During that period of time, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an RFP (request for proposals) calling for nominations of estuaries to the Tier Five National Estuary Program. Dr. Valentine led the team that wrote the submission that led to the successful inclusion of Mobile Bay into the National Estuary Program. This effort has brought almost four million federal dollars to the table and an equal amount has been committed by the local community toward the development of a Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan."

As a researcher, Dr. Valentine’s work has concentrated on the "nursery" habitat of commercially important shellfish and finfish, that is, seagrasses. With field sites from the Mobile Bay Delta to the newly designated Marine Protected Areas of the northern Florida Keys, he and his team of students are examining the role of biological processes and human impact on these vital and productive areas.

Citing the late Dr. Gary Polis as an intellectual giant on whose shoulders he stands, Dr. Valentine has adapted Polis' theory of "open" marine systems, and the need to expand investigations beyond the boundaries of a single habitat. With that in mind, he has recently received several prestigious grants, including one from the renowned Mellon Foundation, to explore the interactions of coral reefs with nearby seagrass habitats, and how one habitat can support, or not support, the other.

By comparing the habitats of protected, or "no-take," zones in Florida, with those areas that are open for fishing, he is seeking data on the effects of removing large predators from an ecosystem, and what effect that might have on the entire productivity of an area. "We know little about what the effects of the removal of predatory fish, such as snappers and groupers, from coral reefs or adjacent seagrass habitats has had on the flow of energy within coral reef food webs. To date, there have been few opportunities to experimentally study such important interactions in open marine systems. The establishment of no-take reserves in the Florida Keys presents the outstanding chance to carry out a well-designed and executable study," says Dr. Valentine.

Overfishing is just one human perturbation that can affect the health of these seagrass "nurseries." Other factors, such as an abundance of nutrients in the water, from non-point source pollution or other sources, as well as the introduction of invasive species, are subjects of Dr. Valentine’s work. He is hopeful that his research will be able to provide new evidence that environmental managers must incorporate food restoration along with reductions in nutrient enrichment if the nation is to have meaningful marine conservation.

Dr. Valentine at the lectern.

With his investigations on open boundaries between habitats and with his knowledge of the local area, "Dr. Valentine’s research team has effectively demonstrated the ecosystem linkages between the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta and Mobile Bay through a series of studies. The interdependence of the two systems has never been fully appreciated and an improved understanding of this relationship is key to providing wise stewardship for both," states Dr. Crozier.

Just as he encourages wise stewardship of our resources, Dr. Valentine is himself a steward of a team of devoted graduate students. To them, he dedicates his time, talent and advice, commenting, "I now think it is more important than ever that they be able to write and speak effectively. You don't have to be a genius at this, but it is hard work and requires persistence."

‘I would also encourage them to recognize the importance of the scientific method as a logical framework to conduct investigations," he concluded.

Clearly, Dr. Valentine’s persistence has benefited our knowledge of the crucial issues of what we need to do to preserve our environmental legacy in Mobile Bay.