Spring Semester starts with a blast

Between holidays and winter break, its been lonely and quiet on the Rutgers' campuses the past few weeks. The cold, snowy blast delivered by Winter Storm Janus ushered in 'Spring'. The first day of the spring semester was called off early and the second day started late. Today is the first full day of 'Spring' topping out at 18 degrees F. Welcome back!

While I'm excited to have everyone back, the quiet and break was nice - we enjoyed sledding in the snow; family came to visit from California; I submitted my first preproposal (ever) to NSF Integrative Organismal Systems Division; and we got in two new species of sea urchins in from the Florida Keys - Lytechinus variegatus and Arbacia punctulata. Both of these species are successful across a large geographic range - are there local adaptations? Does development change in response to the environment? So many questions about how they can thrive under such variable conditions.

(c) Florida Museum of Natural History, Arbacia punctulata

A. punctulata is found along the Western Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Cuba and throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. They are found in shallow water with rocky, sandy or shelly bottoms.

L. variegatus is also found along the US eastern seaboard from North Carolina around Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. However, L. variegatus prefers sea grass beds.