RECENT ACTIVITIES

June-July, 2006

Took the course: Physical Oceanography at UC Santa Cruz.

November 19-22, 2005

Attended: The 3rd Seattle Symposium in Biostatistics: Statistical Genetics and Genomics. and took the short course: Design and Analysis of Microarray Experiments.

September 28, 2005

Started graduate school at the University of Washington

June 13, 2005

Took the course: Biomechanics, Ecological Physiology and Genetics of Intertidal Communities at the Hopkins Marine Station


TEACHING

Biology 180
Biology 355
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Mike Nishizaki
Mike Nishizaki

Dr. D. Grunbaum

Co-Supervisor

"My research combines lab and field experiments with mathematical theory to answer fundamental questions about how marine ecosystems function."

Dr. R. Cattolico

Co-Supervisor

" Dr. Cattolico's studies are directed at understanding the evolution and function of the chloroplast genomes in rhodophytic (red), chromophytic (green), and chromophytic (brown) algae."

Dr. J. Ackerman

M.Sc. Supervisor (defended 2002)

"The ecological and evolutionary problems that underlie my research interests include the convergent evolution of morphology, the manner by which organisms have adapted to their physical environment, and the physical aspects of energy transfer through ecosystems."

RECENT/ONGOING CLASSES
Modeling Populations in the Ocean - 2007
Introduction to MATLAB - 2006
Intelligent design - 2006
Information theory - 2006
Molecular methods - 2006
Evolutionary genetics - 2005

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COLLECTIVE MOTION

Heterosigma akashiwo is a unicellular alga that forms toxic blooms in coastal areas. Predicting where and when these aggregations occur remains elusive, in part, because the mechanism through which these groups form remains unknown. I am currently approaching this problem through the following lines of inquiry: 1). Using a model to explore the set of parameters that are potentially important in bloom formation; 2). Undertaking experiments to examine whether surface environments are selective environments for H. akashiwo; 3). Determining rates of evolution in traits related to bloom formation and; 4). Investigating variation in swimming behavior .




Figure 1. The induction of a surface aggregation of Heterosigma akashiwo. The left beaker contains seawater and the right beaker contains a low-salinity layer over seawater. The brown coloration represents Heterosigma cells. The numbers indicate minutes.

Grunbaum D, K Chan, E Tobin & MT Nishizaki. 2008. Non-linear advection–diffusion equations approximate swarming but not schooling populations. Mathematical Biosciences 214 : 38-48.

JUVENILE SEA URCHINS


Nishizaki MT & JD Ackerman. 2007. Juvenile–adult associations in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. droebachiensis): protection from predation and hydrodynamics in S. franciscanus ). Marine Biology 151:135-145.

Nishizaki MT & JD Ackerman. 2005. A secondary chemical cue facilitates adult-juvenile associations in red sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus). Limnology & Oceanography 50(1): 354-362.

Nishizaki MT & JD Ackerman. 2004. Juvenile-adult associations in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. droebachiensis): Is nutrition involved? Marine Ecology Progress Series 268:93-103.

Nishizaki MT & JD Ackerman. 2001. Gimme shelter: factors influencing juvenile sheltering in Strongylocentrotus franciscanus. Pp. 515-520 In Mike Barker (editor). Echinoderms 2000. Swets & Zeitlinger. Lisse, Netherlands.

NICHE SEPARATION IN INTERTIDAL SYSTEMS

Marchinko KB, MT Nishizaki, & KC Burns. 2004. Community-wide character displacement in barnacles: A new perspective on an old pattern. Ecology Letters 7: 114-120.

Ackerman JD & MT Nishizaki. 2004. The effect of velocity on the suspension feeding and growth of the marine mussels Mytilus trossulus and M. californianus: Implications for competition and niche separation. Journal of Marine Systems 49: 195-207.

PHYSICAL BIOLOGY

Woodson CB et al. 2007. Local diurnal upwelling driven by sea breezes in northern Monterey Bay Continental Shelf Research 27: 2289-2302.

Ackerman JD & MT Nishizaki. 1999. How stiff is a French fry? Teaching biomechanics to biology students. The Journal of Biological Education 34(1): 36-40.

2008 MikeNish.com