Education
2011 PhD in Sciences biologiques, Université du Québec á Montréal (Canada)
Dissertation Title: Nitrogen availability and transformations in Missisquoi Bay, Lake Champlain: effects on phytoplankton community structure and cyanobacterial blooms. Advisor: Dr. David F. Bird
2001 MSc in Mariculture, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TX, USA)
Thesis Title: Direct measurements of denitrification rates in biofilter media using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. Advisor: Dr. David A. McKee
1991 BSc in Marine Science/Biology (double major; minor in Chemistry), The University of Miami (FL, USA)
Professional Development
2018 – present Research Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
2014 – 2018 Research Scientist, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA (Aug 2015 – Aug 2018; Research Affiliate, Aug 2014 – Aug 2015)
2012 – 2017 Post-doctoral Fellow, Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX, USA (Nov 2012 – Aug 2015; University Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellow, Aug 2015 – Aug 2017; Advisor: Dr. Wayne S. Gardner)
2012 Post-doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Integrative Biology, The University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (Feb 2012 – Aug 2012; Advisor: Dr. Josef D. Ackerman)
2007 – 2011 PhD Student, Dép. sciences biologiques, Université du Québec á Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sept 2007 – Dec 2011; Advisor: Dr. David F. Bird)
1998 – 2011 Research Scientist Associate, Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX, USA (May 2001 – Sept 2011; part-time Sept 2007 – Sept 2011; Research/Eng Technician; Feb 1998 – May 2001)
1992 – 1995 Pollution Control Inspector I & II, Department of Environmental Resources Management, Metro-Dade County, Miami, FL, USA (I from 1992 – 1994; II from 1994 – 1995)
1988 – 1992 Laboratory Assistant, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Miami, FL, USA (Aplysia Resource Facility/Experimental Fish Hatchery from 1989 – 1992; Dr. Arthur A. Myrberg, Jr.’s Lab from 1988 – 1989).
Additional Dissertation/Thesis Advisors: Dr. Paul A. del Giorgio (PhD, UQÀM), Dr. Roxane Maranger (PhD, U. de Montréal), Dr. Charles Greer (PhD, NRC-Canada), Dr. Moritz F. Lehmann (PhD, U. Basel, Switzerland), Dr. Yves Prairie (PhD, UQÀM), Dr. Lewis Molot (PhD, York U., Canada), Dr. Wayne S. Gardner (PhD & MS, UTMSI), Dr. Joe Fox (MS, TAMU-CC)
Awarded Grants
Publications (#student advisee)
2011 PhD in Sciences biologiques, Université du Québec á Montréal (Canada)
Dissertation Title: Nitrogen availability and transformations in Missisquoi Bay, Lake Champlain: effects on phytoplankton community structure and cyanobacterial blooms. Advisor: Dr. David F. Bird
2001 MSc in Mariculture, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TX, USA)
Thesis Title: Direct measurements of denitrification rates in biofilter media using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. Advisor: Dr. David A. McKee
1991 BSc in Marine Science/Biology (double major; minor in Chemistry), The University of Miami (FL, USA)
Professional Development
2018 – present Research Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
2014 – 2018 Research Scientist, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA (Aug 2015 – Aug 2018; Research Affiliate, Aug 2014 – Aug 2015)
2012 – 2017 Post-doctoral Fellow, Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX, USA (Nov 2012 – Aug 2015; University Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellow, Aug 2015 – Aug 2017; Advisor: Dr. Wayne S. Gardner)
2012 Post-doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Integrative Biology, The University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (Feb 2012 – Aug 2012; Advisor: Dr. Josef D. Ackerman)
2007 – 2011 PhD Student, Dép. sciences biologiques, Université du Québec á Montréal, Québec, Canada (Sept 2007 – Dec 2011; Advisor: Dr. David F. Bird)
1998 – 2011 Research Scientist Associate, Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX, USA (May 2001 – Sept 2011; part-time Sept 2007 – Sept 2011; Research/Eng Technician; Feb 1998 – May 2001)
1992 – 1995 Pollution Control Inspector I & II, Department of Environmental Resources Management, Metro-Dade County, Miami, FL, USA (I from 1992 – 1994; II from 1994 – 1995)
1988 – 1992 Laboratory Assistant, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Miami, FL, USA (Aplysia Resource Facility/Experimental Fish Hatchery from 1989 – 1992; Dr. Arthur A. Myrberg, Jr.’s Lab from 1988 – 1989).
Additional Dissertation/Thesis Advisors: Dr. Paul A. del Giorgio (PhD, UQÀM), Dr. Roxane Maranger (PhD, U. de Montréal), Dr. Charles Greer (PhD, NRC-Canada), Dr. Moritz F. Lehmann (PhD, U. Basel, Switzerland), Dr. Yves Prairie (PhD, UQÀM), Dr. Lewis Molot (PhD, York U., Canada), Dr. Wayne S. Gardner (PhD & MS, UTMSI), Dr. Joe Fox (MS, TAMU-CC)
Awarded Grants
- 2019 Nitrogen cycling in climate-impacted lake mesocosms 2 (NCyCLMe2). European Union AQUACOSM Transnational Access Program (€17,600; Sole PI).
- 2018 – 2019 Maumee River sediments as a nitrogen source or sink to Lake Erie: the competing roles of ammonium recycling and denitrification. Ohio Water Resources Center ($39,998; Sole PI)
- 2018 Nitrogen cycling in climate-impacted lake mesocosms (NCyCLMe). European Union AQUACOSM Transnational Access Program (€10,000; Sole PI).
- 2016 – 2017 Urgent response to the current cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Okeechobee: community ammonium dynamics. Florida Sea Grant ($9,998; Co-PI).
- 2016 – 2017 Sediment nitrogen dynamics in the western basin of Lake Erie relative to cyanobacterial blooms. Ohio Sea Grant ($120,000; Sole PI).
- 2013 – 2016 Dimensions: Collaborative Research: Anthropogenic nutrient input drives genetic, functional, and taxonomic biodiversity in hypereutrophic Lake Taihu, China. NSF Dimensions in Biodiversity ($1,918,879; UTMSI portion $499,980; Senior Personnel/Post-doctoral Fellow)
- 2007 – 2010 Disponibilité et transformations de l'azote dans la baie Missisquoi du Lac Champlain: Effets sur la structure des communautés de phytoplancton et des fleurs d'eau cyanobactériennes. Le Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT), Programme de bourses d'excellence pour étudiants étrangers (FQRNT Scholarship of Excellence for Foreign Students; CAD$66,500; Sole PI)
Publications (#student advisee)
- Hoffman#, D.K., M.J. McCarthy, S.E. Newell, W.S. Gardner, D.N. Niewinski#, J. Gao, & T.R. Mutchler. In press. Relative contributions of DNRA and denitrification to nitrate removal in Thalassia testudinum seagrass beds in coastal Florida (USA). Estuaries & Coasts.
- Hampel#, J.J., M.J. McCarthy, M. Neudeck, G.S. Bullerjahn, R.M.L. McKay, & S.E. Newell. 2019. Ammonium recycling supports toxic Planktothrix blooms in Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie: evidence from stable isotope and metatranscriptome data. Harmful Algae 81: 42-52.
- Newell, S.E., M.J. McCarthy, T.W. Davis, T. Johengen, D. Gossiaux, A. Burtner, & D. Palladino. 2019. Reduced forms of nitrogen are a driver of non-nitrogen-fixing harmful cyanobacterial blooms and toxicity in Lake Erie. Harmful Algae 81: 86-93.
- Hampel#, J.J., M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, L. Zhang, H. Xu, G. Zhu, & S.E. Newell. 2018. Nitrification and ammonium dynamics in Lake Taihu, China: seasonal competition for ammonium between nitrifiers and cyanobacteria. Biogeosciences 15: 733-748.
- Slone#, L.A., M.J. McCarthy, J.A. Myers#, C.R. Hammerschmidt, & S.E. Newell. 2018. Nitrogen removal and recycling by sediments in the Lower Great Miami River, Ohio. Freshwater Science 37(1): 1-12.
- McCarthy, M.J., J.A. Myers#, & S.E. Newell. 2017. Old habits are hard to break: modern HABs, nitrogen, lake management. Lakeline, Summer 2017: 11-13.
- Gardner, W.S., S.E. Newell, M.J. McCarthy, D.K. Hoffman#, K. Lu, P.J. Lavrentyev, F.L. Hellweger, S.W. Wilhelm, Z. Liu, D.A. Bruesewitz, & H.W. Paerl. 2017. Community biological ammonium demand (CBAD): a conceptual model for cyanobacteria blooms in eutrophic lakes. Environmental Science & Technology 51: 7785-7793.
- Paerl, H.W., J.T. Scott, M.J. McCarthy, S.E. Newell, W.S. Gardner, K.E. Havens, D.K. Hoffman#, S.W. Wilhelm, & W.A. Wurtsbaugh. 2016. It takes two to tango: when and where dual nutrient (N & P) reduction is needed to protect lakes and downstream ecosystems. Environmental Science & Technology 50(20): 10805-10813.
- Newell, S.E., M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, & R.W. Fulweiler. 2016. Sediment nitrogen fixation: the case for re-evaluating the coastal N budget. Estuaries & Coasts 39(6): 1626-1638.
- Hellweger, F.L, N.D. Fredrick, M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, S.W. Wilhelm, & H.W. Paerl. 2016. Dynamic, mechanistic, molecular-level modeling of cyanobacteria: Anabaena and nitrogen interaction. Environmental Microbiology 18(8): 2721-2731.
- McCarthy, M.J., W.S. Gardner, M.F. Lehmann, A. Guindon, & D.F. Bird. 2016. Benthic nitrogen regeneration, fixation, and denitrification in a temperate, eutrophic lake: effects on the nitrogen budget and cyanobacteria blooms. Limnology and Oceanography 61: 1406-1423.
- Paerl, H.W., W.S. Gardner, K.E. Havens, A.R. Joyner, M.J. McCarthy, S.E. Newell, B.Qin, & J.T. Scott. 2016. Mitigating cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems impacted by climate change and anthropogenic nutrients. Harmful Algae 54: 213-222.
- McCarthy, M.J., S.E. Newell, S.A. Carini, & W.S. Gardner. 2015. Denitrification dominates sediment nitrogen removal and is enhanced by bottom-water hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries & Coasts 38: 2279-2294.
- Paerl, H.W., H. Xu, N.S. Hall, G. Zhu, B. Qin, Y. Wu, K.L. Rossignol, L. Dong, M.J. McCarthy, & A.R. Joyner. 2014. Controlling cyanobacterial blooms in hypertrophic Lake Taihu, China: will nitrogen reductions cause replacement of non-N2 fixing by N2 fixing taxa? PLOS One 9(11): e113123.
- Paerl, H.W., W.S. Gardner, M.J. McCarthy, B.L. Peierls, & S.W. Wilhelm. 2014. Algal blooms: Noteworthy nitrogen. Science 346 (6206): 175.
- Wenk, C.B., J. Zopfi, W.S. Gardner, M.J. McCarthy, H. Niemann, M. Veronesi, & M.F. Lehmann. 2014. Partitioning between benthic and pelagic nitrate reduction in the Lake Lugano south basin. Limnology and Oceanography 59(4): 1421-1433.
- Ostrom, N.E., H. Gandhi, B. Kamphuis, S. DeCamp, Z. Liu, M.J. McCarthy, & W.S. Gardner. 2014. Oxygen metabolism and water mass mixing in the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone in 2010. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 140: 39-49.
- Newell, S.E., D. Eveillard, M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, Z. Liu, & B.B. Ward. 2013. A shift in the archaeal nitrifier community in response to natural and anthropogenic disturbances in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Microbiology Reports 6(1): 106-112.
- Burgin, A.J., S.K. Hamilton, W.S. Gardner, & M.J. McCarthy. 2013. Nitrate reduction, denitrification, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in wetland sediments. pp. 519-538, In: DeLaune, R.D., K.R. Reddy, C.J. Richardson, & J.P. Megonigal (eds), Methods in Biogeochemistry of Wetlands. Soil Science Society of America. Madison, WI, USA.
- McCarthy, M.J., W.S. Gardner, M.F. Lehmann, & D.F. Bird. 2013. Implications of water column ammonium uptake and regeneration for the nitrogen budget in temperate, eutrophic Missisquoi Bay, Lake Champlain (Canada/USA). Hydrobiologia 718: 173-188.
- Scott, J.T., H.W. Paerl, M.J. McCarthy, T.G. Otten, M. Steffan, B.C. Baker, and S.W. Wilhelm. 2013. Comment: An alternative interpretation of the relationship between TN:TP and microcystins in Canadian lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 70: 1265-1268.
- McCarthy, M.J., S.A. Carini, Z. Liu, N.E. Ostrom, & W.S. Gardner. 2013. Oxygen consumption in the water column and sediments of the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 123: 46-53
- Smyth, A.R., S.P. Thompson, K.N. Siporin, W.S. Gardner, M.J. McCarthy, & M.F. Piehler. 2013. Assessing nitrogen dynamics throughout the estuarine landscape. Estuaries & Coasts 36: 44-55.
- Scott, J.T., & M.J. McCarthy. 2011. Nitrogen fixation has not offset declines in Lake 227 nitrogen loading and shows that nitrogen control deserves consideration in aquatic systems. Response to Paterson, M.J., D.W. Schindler, R.E. Hecky, D.L. Findlay, & K.J. Rondeau. 2011. Lake 227 shows clearly that controlling inputs of nitrogen will not reduce or prevent eutrophication in lakes. Limnol Oceanogr 56(4): 1545-1547. Limnol Oceanogr 56(4): 1548-1550.
- James, R.T., W.S. Gardner, M.J. McCarthy, & S.A. Carini. 2011. Nitrogen dynamics in Lake Okeechobee: forms, functions, and changes. Hydrobiologia 669: 199-212.
- Paerl, H.W., H. Xu, M.J. McCarthy, G. Zhu, B. Qin, Y. Li, & W.S. Gardner. 2011. Controlling harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a hyper-eutrophic lake (Lake Taihu, China): the need for a dual nutrient (N & P) management strategy. Water Research 45: 1973-1983.
- Lin, X., M.J. McCarthy, S.A. Carini, & W.S. Gardner. 2011. Net, actual, and potential sediment-water interface NH4+ fluxes in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOMEX): evidence for NH4+ limitation of microbial dynamics. Cont Shelf Res 31: 120-128.
- Carini, S.A., M.J. McCarthy, & W.S. Gardner. 2010. An isotope dilution method to measure nitrification rates in the northern Gulf of Mexico and other eutrophic waters. Cont Shelf Res 30: 1795-1801.
- Scott, J.T., & M.J. McCarthy. 2010. Nitrogen fixation may not balance the nitrogen pool in lakes over timescales relevant to eutrophication management. Limnol Oceanogr 55(3): 1265-1270.
- McCarthy, M.J., W.S. Gardner, P.J. Lavrentyev, F.J. Jochem, & C.J. Williams. 2009. Water column nitrogen cycling and microbial plankton in Florida Bay. Contributions in Mar Sci 38: 49-62.
- Gardner, W.S., M.J. McCarthy, S.A. Carini, A. Souza, H. Lijun, K.S. McNeal, M.K. Puckett, & J. Pennington. 2009. Collection of intact sediment cores with overlying water to study nitrogen- and oxygen-dynamics in regions with seasonal hypoxia. Cont Shelf Res 29: 2207-2213.
- Gardner, W.S. & M.J. McCarthy. 2009. Nitrogen dynamics at the sediment-water interface in shallow, subtropical Florida Bay: why denitrification efficiency may decrease with increased eutrophication. Biogeochem 95: 185-198.
- McCarthy, M.J., R.T. James, III, Y. Chen, T.L. East, & W.S. Gardner. 2009. Nutrient ratios and phytoplankton community structure in large, shallow, eutrophic, subtropical Lakes Okeechobee (Florida, USA) and Taihu (China). Limnology 10 (3): 215-227.
- Fennel, K., D. Brady, D. DiToro, R. W. Fulweiler, W.S. Gardner, A. Giblin, M.J. McCarthy, A. Rao, S. Seitzinger, M. Thouvenot-Korppoo, & C. Tobias. 2009. Modeling denitrification in aquatic sediments. Biogeochem 93 (1-2):159-178.
- Dodds, W.K., J.M. O’Brien, J.N. Murdock, J. Fischer, N.R. Franssen, J.J. Eichmiller, A.S. Makinster, D. Gudder, M.J. McCarthy, J.L. Tank, & J. Beaulieu. 2008. Nitrogen cycling and metabolism in the thalweg of a prairie river. J Geophys Res – Biogeosciences 113, G04029, doi: 10.1029/2008JG000696.
- McCarthy, M.J., K.S. McNeal, J.W. Morse, & W.S. Gardner. 2008. Bottom-water hypoxia effects on sediment-water interface nitrogen transformations in a seasonally hypoxic, shallow bay (Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, USA). Estuaries and Coasts 31(3): 521-531.
- Rao, A.M.F., M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, & R.A. Jahnke. 2008. Respiration and denitrification in permeable continental shelf deposits on the South Atlantic Bight: N2:Ar and isotope pairing measurements in sediment column experiments. Cont Shelf Res 28: 602-613.
- Scott, J.T., M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, & R.D. Doyle. 2008. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium and denitrification along a nitrate concentration gradient in a created freshwater wetland. Biogeochem 87: 99-111.
- Hamilton, D., L. Pearson, C. Hendy, D. Burger, M. McCarthy, & T.R. Healy. 2007. Historical and contemporary perspectives on the sediments of Lake Rotorua. Geological Society of New Zealand Newsletter 143: 7-13.
- Rao, A.M.F., M.J. McCarthy, W.S. Gardner, & R.A. Jahnke. 2007. Respiration and denitrification in permeable continental shelf deposits on the South Atlantic Bight: rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling from sediment column experiments. Cont Shelf Res 27: 1801-1819.
- McCarthy, M.J., W.S. Gardner, P.J. Lavrentyev, K.M. Moats, F.J. Jochem, & D.M. Klarer. 2007. Effects of hydrological flow regime on sediment-water interface and water column nitrogen dynamics in a Great Lakes coastal wetland (Old Woman Creek, Lake Erie). J Great Lakes Res 33(1): 219-231.
- McCarthy, M.J., L. Yang, Y. Chen, P.J. Lavrentyev, L. Zhang, W.S. Gardner, & B. Qin. 2007. Nitrogen dynamics relative to microbial food web structure in a shallow, well-mixed, eutrophic lake (Taihu Lake, China). Hydrobiologia 581(1): 195-207.
- Townsend-Small, A., M.J. McCarthy, J.A. Brandes, L.Y. Yang, L. Zhang, & W.S. Gardner. 2007. Seasonal stable isotopic composition of nitrate in Taihu Lake and major inflow rivers. Hydrobiologia 581(1): 135-140.
- Gardner, W.S., & M.J. McCarthy. 2006. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) as a “link” for N and a “sink” for oxygen in shallow, hypoxic, coastal environments. EOS Transactions 87(36). American Geophysical Union.
- Gardner, W.S., M.J. McCarthy, S. An, D. Sobolev, K.S. Sell, & D. Brock. 2006. Nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) support nitrogen dynamics in Texas estuaries. Limnol Oceanogr 51: 558-568.
- Lavrentyev, P. J., M.J. McCarthy, D.M. Klarer, F. Jochem, & W.S. Gardner. 2004. Estuarine microbial food web patterns in a Lake Erie coastal wetland. Microb Ecol 48: 567-577.
- Jochem, F.J., M.J. McCarthy, & W.S. Gardner. 2004. Microbial ammonium dynamics in the Mississippi River plume during the drought spring of 2000. J Plankton Res 26 (11): 1265-1275.
- Gardner, W.S., P.J. Lavrentyev, J.F. Cavaletto, M.J. McCarthy, B.J. Eadie, T.H. Johengen, & J.B. Cotner. 2004. Distribution and dynamics of nitrogen and microbial plankton in southern Lake Michigan during spring transition 1999-2000. J Geophys Res 109: C03007. 16pp.
- McCarthy, M.J. & W.S. Gardner. 2003. An application of membrane inlet mass spectrometry to measure denitrification in a recirculating mariculture system. Aquaculture 218: 341-355.
- Bernot, M.J., W.K. Dodds, W.S. Gardner, M.J. McCarthy, D. Sobolev, & J.L. Tank. 2003. Comparing denitrification estimates for a Texas estuary by using acetylene inhibition and membrane inlet mass spectrometry. Appl Env Microbiol 69 (10): 5950-5956.