Pierre Marrec

  • Marine Research Associate
  • Graduate School of Oceanography, URI
  • Email: pmarrec@uri.edu

Biography

As part of the NES-LTER project, I’m investigating the dynamics of the planktonic food webs and interactions between physics (e.g. temperature), chemistry (e.g. nutrient) and biology (e.g. phytoplankton) in order to understand how different parts of the ecosystem affect one another. I’m studying the key mechanisms linking changes in the physical environment, planktonic food webs and higher trophic levels to better understand how organisms living in the NES, from plankton to fish, are changing in response to changes in their environment.

Research

I am a biogeochemical oceanographer interested in plankton ecology and plankton community structure dynamics. I’ve a strong interest in interactions between biology, chemistry and physics in coastal and open ocean waters.
Plankton ecology – Coupling biogeochemistry and phytoplankton community
structure – Coastal oceanography and biogeochemistry – Carbonate system and air-sea CO2 fluxes dynamics – Autonomous observing platforms, innovative
biogeochemical sensors and data management.

Education

Oct. 2023 – Present: Marine Research Associate – Graduate School of Oceanography – University of Rhode Island – Menden-Deuer Lab

Oct. 2018 – Oct 2023: Post-Doctoral position – Graduate School of Oceanography – University of Rhode Island – Menden-Deuer Lab: Plankton population dynamics across the Northeast continental shelf. Northeast U.S. Shelf Long-Term Ecological Research, NES-LTER project.

Sept. 2015 – Jul. 2018: Post-Doctoral position – Mediterranean Institute of
Oceanography – Aix Marseille University – CYBELE Team: Submesoscale dynamics
of the phytoplankton community structure in the western Mediterranean Sea from in-situ observations. CHROME project. Supervisor: Dr. Melilotus Thyssen.

Jan. 2015 – Jul. 2015: Post-Doctoral position – Biological Station of Roscoff – Sorbonne University/CNRS – Marine Chemistry Team: Continuity of PhD works.
Supervisor: Dr. Yann Bozec.

Oct. 2011 – Dec. 2014: PhD Chemical Oceanography – Biological Station of Roscoff
– Sorbonne University/CNRS – Marine Chemistry Team: Dynamics of the carbonate
system and air-sea CO2 fluxes in north-western European shelf waters: A multi-scale approach. Supervisors: Dr. Pascal Morin and Dr. Yann Bozec.

Master’s Degree in Chemistry of Marine Environments (2009-2011), European
Institute of Marine Studies (IUEM), Plouzané, Brest, France.

License of Chemistry (2006-2009), University of Brest (UBO), France.

Selected Publications

P. Marrec, H. McNair, G. Franzè, F. Morison, J.P. Strock, S. Menden‐Deuer. Seasonal
variability in planktonic food web structure and function of the Northeast U.S. Shelf.
2021, Limnology and Oceanography. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11696
 
P. Marrec, A. Miller, L. Maranda, S. Menden-Deuer. Virtual and Remote: Hands-on
undergraduate research in plankton ecology during the 2020 pandemic: COVID-19
can’t stop this! 2021, Oceanography, 34(1), 118-125.
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2021.104
 
P. Marrec, A.M. Doglioli, G. Grégori, M. Dugenne, A. Della Penna, N. Bhairy, T.
Cariou, S. Hélias Nunige, S. Lahbib, G. Rougier, T. Wagener, M. Thyssen. Coupling
physics and biogeochemistry thanks to high resolution observations of the
phytoplankton community structure in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. 2018,
Biogeosciences, 15, 1579-1606. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1579-2018
 
 
P. Marrec, T. Cariou, E. Macé, P. Morin, L. Salt, M. Vernet, B. Taylor, K. Paxman, Y.
Bozec. Dynamics of air-sea CO2 fluxes in the northwestern European Shelf based on
Voluntary Observing Ship and satellite observations. 2015, Biogeosciences, 12,
5371-5391. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5371-2015
 
 
 

Mentoring Experience:

Summer 2022: Julia Pamphile – Undergraduate Student – Invited internship – High-resolution measurements of oxygen respiration of planktonic and bacterial
communities.

Summer 2021: Amanda Herbst – Undergraduate Student – NSF REU-SURFO - Calibrating underway chlorophyll-a fluorescence along the Northeast U.S. Shelf for
Long-Term Ecological Research.

Summer 2020: Andria Miller – Undergraduate Student – NSF REU-SURFO -
Dynamics of the plankton community structure in bodies of water in Mississippi.

2018 - 2021: Jean-Phillipe Gac – PhD Student, Biological Station of Roscoff - UMR7144 CNRS/Sorbonne University - EDYCO-CHIMAR. Multi-scale study of the air-sea exchanges of CO2 and the ocean acidification in the western English Channel.

Co-advisor with Cedric Boulart. Supervisor: Yann Bozec and Pascal Morin. PhD
defense on 09/27/2021.