Shirley M. Baker

Shirley M. Baker

Assistant Professor Ph.D., Marine Science, 1994
The College of William and Mary,
Virginia Institute of Marine Science M.S., Biology, 1988
University of Oregon

B.S., Biology, 1986
Seattle Pacific University

More Photos Below

Shirley Baker's research focuses on the physiology and ecology of marine, estuarine and freshwater invertebrates, especially bivalves. Her current research interests include the feeding, respiratory, and reproductive physiology of marine bivalves. One of Dr. Baker's long-term research goals is to enhance the sustainable development of open-water clam farming. She is also interested in the consequences of biological invasions and anthropogenic disturbances on the ecology and physiology of invertebrates. Her methods bridge and integrate several levels of research; from comparative physiology, functional morphology and biochemistry at the level of the organism, to remote sensing at the level of the ecosystem. Understanding the connections between organisms, ecosystems, and society, requires an understanding of how organisms work at some of the most basic levels.

In addition to her ongoing research projects, Dr. Baker teaches a course in the department entitled "Aquatic Invertebrate Ecological Physiology".

FAS 6154 Aquatic Invertebrate Ecological Physiology (3 credits)

This is a lecture course (3 hours per week) intended for graduate students in a variety of freshwater, marine, aquaculture, zoology and natural resource related disciplines. This course focuses on the biochemical, physiological, behavioral, and ecological adaptations of invertebrate animals. A comparative approach is used to examine basic principles of adaptation, problems of size and scale, key mechanisms in physiology (excretion, thermal biology, respiration, etc.), and details of how organisms cope with particular aquatic environments (marine, estuarine and freshwater). Exam questions require critical thinking, integration and application of interdisciplinary concepts. Each student is required to lead a criticaldiscussion of a journal article at least once during the semester. Each student is also required to give a 20-minute lecture on an assigned topic. This course is offered in the Fall term of odd years.

The objectives of this course are for students to 1) Develop an understanding of the underlying importance of physiology in the structure and function of communities and ecosystems; 2) Gain and apply interdisciplinary knowledge in the subject area of invertebrate ecological physiology; 3) Become familiar with the classical and contemporary literature of the discipline; 4) Apply critical thinking in evaluating the literature; 5) Engage in collegial discussion; and 6) Gain experience in verbal communication through oral presentations.

Green Mussel Homepage available at: http://greenmussel.ifas.ufl.edu/

E-mail: sbaker25@ufl.edu

Phone: 352'392'9617 ext. 264

Curriculum Vitae (pdf) Includes all publications.

Other links:

“What’s in the Clam Bag?” A pictorial guide to assist clam farmers and others in identifying the marine organisms found in, on, and around a clam culture bag. It also provides information on effects of the organisms on the clam crop and what a farmer might do to lessen those effects.

PowerPoint presentation: “CLAMMRS: Clam Lease Assessment, Management and Modeling using Remote Sensing”

Archives of CLAMMRS water quality data.

Papers in press:

Baker, P., J.D. Austin, B.W. Bowen, and S.M. Baker. In press. Range-wide population structure and history of the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence data. ICES Journal of Marine Science. ~10 pp

Bergquist, D.C., D. Heuberger, L.N. Sturmer, and S.M. Baker. In press. Continuous water quality monitoring for the hard clam industry in Florida, USA. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. ~ 10 pp

Steigerwalt, N.M., C.E. Cichra, and S.M. Baker. In press. Composition and distribution of aquatic invertebrate communities on snags in a north central Florida, USA, spring-fed river. Florida Scientist. ~ 15 pp

Selected publications
Clicking on "PDF" will provide you with a copy of the paper which you can view or download.

McCoy, A., S.M. Baker, and A.C. Wright. 2007 Investigation of Perkinsus spp. in aquacultured hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) from the Florida Gulf Coast. Journal of Shellfish Research.26:4, 2039-1033. pdf

Baker, P., J.S. Fajans, W.S. Arnold, D.A. Ingrao, D.C. Marelli, and S.M. Baker. 2007. Range and dispersal of a tropical marine invader, the green mussel, Perna viridis, in subtropical waters of the southeastern United States. Journal of Shellfish Research 26: 345-355. pdf

Brenner, M., J.M. Smoak, D.A. Leeper, M. Streubert, and S. Baker. 2007. Radium-226 accumulation in Florida freshwater mussels. Limnology and Oceanography 52: 1614-1623. PDF

Mitchem, E., J.S. Fajans, and S.M. Baker. 2007. Contrasting responses of two native crustacean predators to non-indigenous prey, the green mussel, Perna viridis. Florida Scientist 70: 180-188. PDF

Bergquist, D.C., J.A. Hale, P. Baker, and S.M. Baker. 2006. Development of ecosystem indicators for the Suwannee River Estuary: Oyster reef habitat along a salinity gradient. Estuaries and Coasts 29: 353-360. PDF

Baker, S.M., P. Baker, D. Heuberger, and L.N. Sturmer. 2005.. Short-term effects of rapid salinity reduction on seed clams (Mercenaria mercenaria). J. Shellfish Research 24 (1): 29-34 PDF

Barber, B.J., J.S. Fajans, S.M. Baker, and P.K. Baker. 2005. Gametogenesis in the non-native green mussel, Perna viridis, and the native scorched mussel, Brachidontes exustus, in Tampa Bay, Florida. J. Shellfish Research 24: 1087-1095. PDF

Baker, S.M. and D.K. Padilla. 2004. New frontiers in functional morphology of molluscs: A tribute to Drs. Vera Fretter and Ruth Turner. American Malacological Bulletin 18: 121-127. PDF

Baker, S.M. and Jeffrey S. Levinton. 2003. Selective feeding by three native North American freshwater mussels implies food competition with zebra mussels. Hydrobiol. 506:97-105. PDF

Baker, S.M., D. Heuberger, E.J. Phlips, and L.N. Sturmer. 2002. Water quality and its role on hard clam production. Technical Bulletin (University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension Services). 6 pp. link to PDF.

Baker, S. M. and D. J. Hornbach. 2001. Seasonal metabolism and biochemical composition of two unionid mussels, Actinonaias ligamentina and Amblema plicata. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 67:407-416. PDF

Baker, S.M. and D.J. Hornbach. 2000. Physiological status and biochemical composition of a natural population of unionid mussels (Amblema plicata) infested by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). American Midland Naturalist 143: 443-452. PDF

Baker, S.M., J.S. Levinton, and J.E. Ward. 2000. Particle transport in the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas). Biological Bulletin 199: 116-125. Video supplement

Baker, S. M., J.S. Levinton and J.E. Ward. 2000. Particle transport in the zebra mujssel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas). Biol Bull. 199:116-125. PDF

Baker, S.M., J.S. Levinton, J.P. Kurdziel, and S.E. Shumway. 1998. Selective feeding and biodeposition by zebra mussels and their relation to changes in phytoplankton composition and seston load. J. Shellfish Research 17: 1207-1213. PDF

Baker, S.M. and D.J. Hornbach. 1997. Acute physiologial effects of zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, infestation on two unionid mussels, Actinonaias ligamentina and Amblema plicata. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54: 512-519. PDF

Baker, S.M. and R. Mann. 1994. Feeding ability during settlement and metamorphosis in the oyster Crassostrea virginica and the effects of hypoxia on post'settlement ingestion rates. Journal of Experimental Biology and Ecology 181: 239-253. PDF

Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS) publications: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/

Baker, S., E. Hoover, and L. Sturmer. 2007. The role of salinity in hard clam aquaculture. Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS), UF/IFAS Extension. FA 132. 10 pp.

Baker, S., D. Petty, R. Francis-Floyd, R. Yanong, and L. Sturmer. 2006. Introduction to infectious diseases in hard clams. Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS), UF/IFAS Extension. FA 125. 7 pp.

Weber, K, L. Sturmer, E. Hoover, and S. Baker. 2007. The role of water temperature in hard clam aquaculture. FA151. Submitted.

	Water quality and weather monitoring stations have been installed at ten clam aquaculture lease areas by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Division of Aquaculture staff. Along with DACS, the Baker Lab is lead investigator on the multi'lab CLAMMRS Project (Clam Lease Assessment, Management and Modeling using Remote Sensing). This project, funded by the USDA, addresses the needs of an important emerging agricultural industry, the hard clam aquaculture industry, through a series of interrelated research, extension, and education activities. In addition to creating a water quality data base to document events associated with crop loss, we are determining the impact of food resource availability and quality on clam productivity (Phlips Lab, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences), filling gaps in knowledge of Florida clam physiology and response to stressors (Baker Lab), and developing a computer simulation model of Florida clam production (Montague Lab, Environmental Engineering Sciences). For more information, see http://shellfish.ifas.ufl.edu/clammrs.htm.
	Former graduate student, Ayana McCoy (Masters degree, Fall '04), records data in the field. Recently, the need for a hardier clam strain has become evident as clam culturists in south Florida report below average survivals or total losses during the hot summers. While strain development through basic breeding is a long and costly process, a quicker method to capitalize on genetics is through triploid induction. In collaboration with Dr. John Scarpa of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (http://www.hboi.edu/index_03.html), we are examining the hypothesis that triploid clams will exhibit reduced gametogenesis and increased body mass that will contribute to higher survival during the summer stressors of heat, reduced dissolved oxygen, and reduced feed availability found in the subtropical waters of Florida. Graduate student, Elise Hoover, is comparing the responses of diploid and triploid clams subjected to laboratory stress challenges. We are also determining the physiological mechanism by which triploidy may improve field survival. For more information, see http://shellfish.ifas.ufl.edu/triploidy.htm.
	Former Biological Scientist, Jon Fajans, proudly displays a world record green mussel, Perna viridis, collected from Tampa Bay (171.5 mm in shell length). The green mussel, native to the Persian Gulf and the Philippines, has been introduced throughout the Indo'Pacific, appeared in the Caribbean in 1989 and, by 1999, had invaded Florida, USA. P. viridis initially spread south from its point of origin in Tampa Bay, Florida, with prevailing coastal currents. In 2002 it invaded northeast Florida. Prior invasion patterns and laboratory tolerance trials conducted in the Baker Lab suggest cold temperatures will limit northward range expansion to the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern United States. Our studies indicate that P. viridis out-competes the native and ecologically important eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. For more information, see http://greenmussel.ifas.ufl.edu/.
	Dr. Baker has an interest in the functional morphology of bivalve feeding organs; her lab is equipped with an endoscope and video equipment for examining bivalve feeding processes in vivo. As a fun side project, Shirley continues to collaborate with her former postdoc, Dr. Derk Bergquist, examining the gill morphology of hydrocarbon seep mussels. Pictured is an SEM photograph of the ventral food groove and several gill filaments of the methanotrophic symbiont-containing mussel Bathymodiolus childressi, collected by Derk from the Gulf of Mexico.
	Dr. Baker's identical triplets, Arthur, Alex and Andy (pictured at 5 years in 2008), sample the tide pools at Fort Clinch State Park.

Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 7922 NW 71st St., Gainesville, FL 32653
UF PO: 110600 Phone: 352/392-9617 Fax: 352/392-3672 (SUNCOM 622-3672)

Page Updated April 4, 2008

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