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Mariana Rocha de Souza

Postdoctoral Researcher

My Research

I am broadly interested in a wide range of topics dealing with the ecology and evolution of marine organisms. My previous research, during the master and undergraduate studies, has been primarily focused in the taxonomy and systematics of Scyphozoa. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I am focused on the role of the coral-algae interaction in coral health.

Education and Experience

PhD - University of Hawai’I at Manoa and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Marine Biology, 2016-2022

MS - Universite Aix Marseille, France; Oceanography, emphasis in Marine Biology and Ecology, 2013

BS  - University of Sao Paulo-USP, Brazil; Biological Sciences and Science Teacher Licensure, 2009                                                 

Current Projects

  • Biogeography of coral symbionts in Kāne‘ohe Bay

  • Montipora phenotype and symbionts pre and post bleaching event

  • Patterns of clonality of Montipora capitata in Kāne‘ohe Bay

  • Coral holobiont performance under long-term experimental warming and acidification

  • Comparison of markers and methods for Symbioniaceae identification

Publications

Jury, C., Bahr, K., Grottoli, A., Nelson, A., McLauchlan, R., Price, J., Souza, M.R., Smith, C., Sparagon, W., Squair, C., Timmers, M., Vicente, J., Yamase, N., Toonen, R. (in preparation) Coral reef community responses to long-term experimental ocean acidification and warming.

Roach TNF, Yadav S, Caruso C, Dilworth J, Foley CM, Hancock J, Hucekba J, Huffmyer AS, Hughes K, Kahkejian VA, Madin EMP, Matsuda S, McWilliam M, Miller S, Santora EP, Rocha de Souza M, Torres-Pulliza D, Drury C, Madin JS. A field primer for monitoring benthic ecosystems using structure-from-motion photogrammetry. In Review.

Kitchen, R., Piscetta, M., Souza, M.R., Lenz, B., Wall, C. & Gates, R. 2020. Symbiont transmission and reproductive mode influence responses of three Hawaiian coral larvae to elevated temperature and nutrients. Coral Reefs. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01905-x

Souza, M.R. & Dawson, N.M. (2018) Redescription of Mastigias papua (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae) with designation of a neotype and recognition of two additional species. Zootaxa 4457(4): 520-536.

Depper, L.G., Lang, T., Souza, M.R. & Mechels, B. (2017) Remaining the National Park Service to be a Resilience Agency. The George Wright Forum, 34(1): 53-61.

Souza, M.R., Ul-Hasan, S. & Keeney, B.D. (2016) The impact of host dispersal on parasite diversity. Frontiers of Biogeography 7(4):135-137.