Daniel Roelke

Professor
Department of Marine Biology

Daniel Roelke
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
– Stewart Brand
+1 (409) 740.4750droelke@tamu.edu

Learn more about Daniel Roelke

Get To Know Daniel Roelke

What in your life drew you to your current field of study?

A sump-pump well. Really. I grew up in an area where most homes had basements. Basements flood frequently and sump-pumps are household fixtures. More often than not, sump pumps wells have standing water, and where there is water there is life. As a kid, my first time looking through a microscope, some Sears and Roebuck low magnification kit (nothing fancy!), was at a water sample collected from the sump-pump well. I saw ciliated and flagellated protozoa. How could this be? Somehow in this sampling cup of perfectly clear water these creatures thrived, lots of them. Why are there so many, and why are there so many different kinds? I was hooked.

What do you hope your students gain from studying or working with you?

Phytoplankton, while individually undetectable to the naked eye, in aggregate comprise about 50% of Earth’s primary productivity, sustaining life in marine and inland environments. However, not all phytoplankton species are beneficial. Some taxa produce chemicals deleterious to other species, creating bottlenecks in energy flow through food webs. Some are much worse, producing chemicals that are lethal to other organisms resulting in widespread death, killing animals ranging from fish to whales. In the extreme, some phytoplankton taxa kill humans, either slowly through chronic exposure leading to debilitating health issues (e.g., cancers) or quickly through acute exposure to toxins (e.g., respiratory paralysis). The kinds of phytoplankton that prosper are a function of the environmental conditions in which they are found, including inflows, and also on the existing biodiversity. Knowledge of these conditions is key to managing the health of marine and inland environments so that they are productive and life-supporting, especially in a world becoming less predictable with changes in climate. It is this kind of purpose-driven, complex thinking that my students gain from working with me.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

Travels to exotic locations. This has been the stuff of dreams.

Education

Ph.D. Oceanography/Biological, Texas A&M University, 1997
M.S. Oceanography/Biological, Texas A&M University, 1993
B.S. Earth Sciences/Biological Oceanography, Minor in Chemistry, Millersville University, 1989 

Licenses and Certificates:

2019 - Small Vessel Operator. Texas A&M University Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
1993 – Certificate of Flow and Imaging Cytometry. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Boothbay Harbor, ME, USA.
1988 – Licensed for Scuba Diving. Y.M.C.A., Millersville, PA, USA.

Courses Taught

Currently:

MARB 408 Marine Botany
MARB 640 Ecosystem Functions in Marine Environments
MARB 693 Professional Studies

Historically (while on the TAMU main campus):

WFSC 404 Aquatic Ecosystems
WFSC 414 Ecology of Lakes and Rivers
WFSC 418 Ecology of the Coastal Zone
WFSC 449 Professional Aspects of Aquatic Sciences
WFSC 611 Estuarine Ecology
WFSC 621 Aquatic Ecology
WFSC 685 Chaos in Plankton Ecosystems
UPAS 181 Killer Algae: Ecology and Management 

Publications

Last five years from my Lab!  (follow my Google Scholars link for full list)

  • Kieley, C.M., D.L. Roelke, R. Park, K.L. Campbell, N.H. Klobusnika, J.R. Walker, S.E. Cagle, M.L. Kneer, K.M. Stroski, B.W. Brooks, J.M. Labonté. Concentration of total microcystins associates with nitrate and nitrite, and may disrupt the nitrogen cycle, in warm-monomictic lakes of the southcentral United States.  Harmful Algae. In Press.

  • Cagle, S.E., D.L. Roelke, J. Bhattacharyya. 2023. A spatially explicit, multi-nutrient, multi-species plankton model for shallow bay systems.  Estuaries and Coasts.  46:1573–1589.

  • Cagle, S.E., D.L. Roelke.  2021.  Relative roles of fundamental processes underpinning PEG dynamics in dimictic lakes as revealed by a self-organizing, multi-population plankton model.  Ecological Modelling. 462 (online, 109793), 16 pages.

  • Cagle, S.E., D.L. Roelke, C. Hernández-Zepeda, G. Rosiles-González, V.H. Carrillo-Jovel, D. Ortega-Camacho, E. Cejudo.  2021.  Cyanobacteria and nitrates in karstic systems of Yucatan (Mexico) and Texas (USA).  Aquatic Sciences. 83:74 (online), 12 pages.

  • Cagle, S.E., D.L. Roelke, R.M.W Muhl.  2021.  Allelopathy and micropredation paradigms reconcile with system stoichiometry.  Ecosphere.  12, e03372.  13 pages.

  • Roelke, D.L., S.E. Cagle, R.M.W. Muhl, A. Sakavara, G. Tsirtsis.  2020.  Resource fluctuation patterns influence emergent properties of phytoplankton assemblages and their resistance to harmful algal blooms.  Marine and Freshwater Research.  71: 56-67.

  • Bhattacharyya, J., D.L. Roelke, J.R. Walton, S. Banerjee.  2020.  Using YY supermales to destabilize invasive fish populations.  Theoretical Population Biology.  134: 1-14.

  • Bhattacharyya, J., D.L. Roelke, S. Pal, S. Banerjee.  2019.  Sliding mode dynamics on a prey-predator system with intermittent harvesting policy.  Nonlinear Dynamics.  98: 1299–1314

  • Cagle, S.E., D.L. Roelke, R.M.W Muhl*.  2019.  Compounding effects of co-occurring disturbances on populations of a harmful bloom-forming mixotrophic protist.  Hydrobiologia.  831: 23–31.

  • Kouhanestani, Z.M., D.L. Roelke#, R. Ghorbani, M. Fujiwara.  2019.  Assessment of spatiotemporal phytoplankton composition in relation to environmental conditions of Gorgan Bay, Iran.  Estuaries and Coasts.  42: 173–189.
Funding

Last five years:

  • 2023-25, Expanding a multispecies, multi-nutrient plankton model into the Matagorda and Baffin Bay Systems, Texas, with C. Cagle, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, $369,267 – co-PI.

  • 2022-26, Win-Win-Win: Leveraging Microalgae – Oyster Interactions for Coastal Protection, Cinthia and George Mitchell Foundation, $225,000 – sole-PI.

  • 2022-24, TAMUG pilot research in a microalgae production supporting the PVAMU Algae Center of Excellence (PACE), Cinthia and George Mitchell Foundation, $48,000 – sole-PI.

  • 2021, Centramate™ Lab Tangential Flow Systems Equipment Purchase, Texas Comprehensive Research Fund (TCRF), with J. Labonte and P. Santschi, $4,767 – co-PI.

  • 2021-24, Factors critical to long-term lake and reservoir management: Relationships between land-use, nutrient loading, inflows, HABs and anoxia, with J. Labonte, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, $1,431,009 – lead-PI.

  • 2020-22, Improving a multispecies, multinutrient plankton model for the San Antonio and Copano/Aransas Bay Systems with development of forms to enter and retrieve information.  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, $327,584 – sole-PI.

  • 2019-20, Better Water-Use Efficiency Through Coupled Microalgae Production And Horticulture Industries.  Triad Program, Texas A&M University, $35,115 – lead PI. 
Awards & Recognition
  • 2023, Featured EPA webinar speaker, Numeric Nutrient Criteria Seminar Series, titled “Linking phytoplankton assemblage emergent properties to harmful algal bloom resistance – theory, modeling tools, empirical data”, October 10, 2023.

  • 2015, Recipient of the Texas A&M University Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department “Outstanding Graduate Teaching” Award.

  • 2015, Recipient of the Texas Chapter American Fisheries Society “Outstanding Fisheries Educator” Award.

  • 2013, Re-elected to the National Harmful Algal Bloom Committee (USA)

  • 2010, Elected to the National Harmful Algal Bloom Committee (USA)

  • 2008, Elected to the Faculty Senate, Texas A&M University

  • 1998, Invited to participate in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea: Young Scientists Conference on Marine Ecosystem Perspectives (limited to 2 participants per country)

  • 1997, Awarded a Consortium of Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) Postdoctoral Fellow 
Professional Appointments
  • 2021-Present, Faculty (courtesy joint appointment), Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University.

  • 2021-Present, Guest Editor, Climate, journal of the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, special issue “Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change of Aquatic Populations and Communities, and its Impact on Ecosystem Functioning”.

  • 2015-Present, Associate Editor, Marine & Freshwater Research, journal of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia.

  • 2005-Present, Faculty, Water Management and Hydrologic Sciences, Interdisciplinary Degree Program, Texas A&M University.

  • 2005-Present, Faculty, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Interdisciplinary Degree Program, Texas A&M University. 
Laboratory Personnel

Research Scientist:
Dr. Sierra Cagle

Postdoctoral Researchers:
Dr. Tamas Palmai
Dr. Smita Pal (co-supervised with Dr. Jessica Labonte)

Graduate Students:
Crista Kieley, Ph.D. (co-advised with Dr. Jessica Labonte)
Royoung Park, Ph.D. (co-advised with Dr. Jessica Labonte)


Research Technician:
K. Hagen Klobusnik
 

Contact Info

Daniel Roelke
Professor
Department of Marine Biology


droelke@tamu.edu
Phone: +1 (409) 740.4750
Fax: +1 (409) 740.5001‬

Ocean & Coastal Studies Bldg., Office 164


CV
Google Scholars Page