Red Tide Institute

Tristyn Bercel

Tristyn Bercel

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Tristyn Bercel joined the Red Tide Institute as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Mote in 2021 after finishing her PhD in Oceanography at Florida State University. During her PhD, Tristyn studied phytoplankton ecophysiology, looking at how environmental factors affect phytoplankton photosynthesis, with a focus on Karenia brevis. She utilized a combination of culturing techniques, physiological measurements (e.g. chlorophyll and brevetoxin extractions), and photosynthetic measures (e.g. rate measurements and photophysiolgy data) to characterize how K. brevis takes up and utilizes carbon. She also investigated how these processes respond to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration.

At Mote, Dr. Bercel will combine her expertise in phytoplankton culturing and ecophysiology with the fieldwork, modeling, and historical data records provided by the Red Tide Institute. Her aim is to elucidate the ways in which environmental factors influence and control the harmful algal blooms formed by K. brevis off the West Florida Shelf.

Education

Ph.D. in Oceanography, Florida State University, 2021
M.Sc. in Oceanography, Florida State University, 2018
B.Sc. in Earth and Space Exploration concentration: Astrobiology and Biogeosciences with minors in Biological Sciences and Sustainability, Arizona State University, 2015

Publications

Bercel, T.L., Kranz, S.A., 2019. Insights into carbon acquisition and photosynthesis in *Karenia brevis* under a range of CO2 concentrations. Prog. Oceanogr. 172, 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2019.01.011

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