Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley
Gretchen is a reef ecologist whose research is focused on understanding how coral reef ecosystems function in order to maintain biodiversity. Her research program combines large-scale in situ ecological surveys, laboratory based manipulative experiments, and molecular ecology to address questions related to the health, evolution, and resilience of coral reefs, ranging from shallow inshore reefs to the mesophotic zone. Her current research projects include assessing biodiversity and ecosystem function on mesophotic reefs, ecological impacts of the invasive lionfish, and reproductive ecology of scleractinian corals across a depth gradient.
Gretchen received her PhD from Harvard University in 2009, where she examined how the mode of reproduction affects genetic connectivity for two corals species in the Western Atlantic. As a postdoctoral scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory, she focused on reef restoration and coral larval ecology. She also investigated how exposure of coral larvae to oil and dispersant chemicals from the Deep Water Horizon oil spill affects settlement and survival. Prior to joining the faculty at BIOS, Gretchen held a position as a EURIAS Fellow at the University of Bologna where she carried out research on Mediterranean corals.
Research Interests:
Invertebrate life histories and evolution, focusing primarily on scleractinian corals. Reproductive timing and its effects on larval life history; settlement success and juvenile growth in response to various environmental and biological factors, including substrate composition, grazing pressure, and anthropogenic pollutants; coral reef restoration; local and regional genetic diversity; gene flow and population connectivity of coral reefs in Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Educational Background:
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 2003 - 2009
-PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2001 - 2002
-Three Seas Marine Biology Program
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 1997 - 2001
-B.Sc. in Biology, Cum Laude
Semester Abroad, Oxford University, Keble College -1999
UGA Classics Program Abroad, Rome, Italy -1998
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Selected Publications:
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Eddy, C, Pitt, J, Chequer, A, Smith, SR (2019) Ecological drivers of lionfish (Pterois miles and P. volitans) densities on mesophotic reefs. Frontiers in Marine Science, In Press
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Waletich, JR (2018) Morphological plasticity of a depth generalist coral species between shallow and mesophotic reefs in Bermuda. Ecology 99(7): 1688-1690. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2232.
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Wong, K, Becker, D, Glennon, K, de Putron, S (2018) Reproductive ecology and early life history traits of the brooding coral, Porites astreoides, from shallow to mesophotic zones. Coral Reefs 37(2): 483-494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-018-1673-2.
Reich, H, Robertson, D, Goodbody-Gringley, G (2017) Do the shuffle: Changes in Symbiodinium consortia throughout juvenile coral development. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0171768.
Pinheiro, H, Goodbody-Gringley, G, Jessup, EM, Shepherd, B, Chequer, AD, Rocha, LA (2016) Upper and lower mesophotic coral reef fish communities evaluated by underwater visual census in the Caribbean. Coral Reefs 35: 139-151.
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Marchini, C, Chequer, AD, Goffredo, S (2015) Population structure of the Great star coral, Montastraea cavernosa, on mesophotic reefs in Bermuda. PLoS ONE 10(11): e0142427. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142427.
Kenkel, CD, Goodbody-Gringley, G, Caillaud, D, Davies, SW, Bartels, E, Matz, MV (2013) Evidence for a host role in thermotolerance divergence between populations of the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) from different reef environments. Molecular Ecology 22: 4335-4348.
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Wetzel, DL, Gillion, D, Pulster, E, Miller, A, Ritchie, KB (2013) Toxicity of Deepwater Horizon source oil and the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9500, to coral larvae. PLoS ONE 8(1): e45574.
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Woollacott, RM, Giribet, G (2012) Population structure and connectivity of the Atlantic scleractinian coral Montastraea cavernosa (Linnaeus, 1766). Marine Ecology 33: 32-48.
Goodbody-Gringley, G, Vollmer, S, Woollacott, RM, Giribet, G (2010) Limited gene flow in the brooding coral Favia fragum (Esper, 1797). Marine Biology 157: 2591-2602.