EDUCATION

• University of Hawaii (2002-present), PhD. Candidate in Biological Oceanography
  Dissertation Topic - Employing isotopic chemical tags to examine trophic dynamics and migration patterns of top predators in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.                                                                                              
  Major Advisor: Dr. Brian Popp
• Michigan State University (2000-2002), M.Sc. in Environmental GeoScience
  Thesis Title - Pacific Salmon: A conduit of marine nutrients to stream ecosystems.
  Major Advisor: Dr. Peggy Ostrom
• University of Minnesota, Duluth (1996-2000), B.Sc. Biology, minor in Chemistry
  Mentor: Dr. John Pastor

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Application of stable isotope techniques in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry
• Material and nutrient flux across ecosystem boundaries 
• Application of chemical tracers in tracking animal migration

PAST RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

NSF-funded Nyanza Graduate Student Participant (2004): Conducted a 7-wk research project investigating the indirect and direct effects of fish herbivory on nitrogen cycling in nearshore, Lake Tanganyika. Coordinated by Univ of Arizona’s International Decade of East African Lakes program. Mentor: Pete McInytre. Summary.

PFRP Graduate Research Assistant (2002 to present): Conduct research central to two PFRP projects (Allain et al. and Holland et al.) focused on tuna trophic dynamics and movement patterns.

MSU Graduate Assistant (2000-2002): Conducted my Master's research on examining the effects of salmon subsidies on S. E. Alaskan stream ecosystems. The unique isotopic marine signal in returning spawning salmon provided an excellent opportunity to delineate pathways of energy and organic matter transfer in the stream food webs. In addition, one Postdoc and several other graduate students from MSU and Notre Dame examined the effects of salmon subsidies on the same streams using ecological, chemical, and biogeochemical approaches. Three different streams were studied over 3 field seasons. This research was one part of a larger, multi-PI, USDA-funded project.

Stream Ecology Field/Lab Technician (1999): Worked for Dr. Richard Merritt (MSU) collecting stream benthic abiotic and biotic samples in S. E. Alaska.

Stream Ecology Field Technician (1998): Volunteered for the USFS Forestry Sciences Lab in S.E. Alaska gathering data on insect drift in headwater streams under different forest management strategies (Dr. M. Wipfli, USFS, WA).

UROP Research Fellow (1997-1998): Conducted research under the UMD’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award. I examined how moose allocate their activity to achieve the greatest efficiency for fulfilling energy demands, while keeping in balance with physiological and environmental factors (Dr. J. Pastor, UMD).

NSF REU Fellow (1996-98): Worked as a fellow for Dr. John Pastor (UMD) examining the foraging behavior of moose using GPS & GIS technologies in MN.

Forest Regeneration Volunteer (1996): Participated in the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers (ATCV) restoring forest ecosystems in the Warrumbungles Range National Park, NSW, Australia.

Radio-telemetry Project (1994-1995): Conducted independent research projects on the behavior of squirrels and a raccoon using radio-telemetry (Mr. Weaver, SAHS).

OCEANOGRAPHIC CRUISES

Oceanographic Cruise (2005): Participated in a 4-week TAO-buoy research cruise (NOAA R/V Kai’mimoana). Collected biogeochemical and biological samples from the central equatorial Pacific.

Oceanographic Cruise (2005): Participated in a 3-week long-lining research cruise (NOAA R/V O. Sette). Collected samples of top predators for isotope analyses to track fish migration in the equatorial Pacific (Drs. M. Musyl and R. Brill, NOAA).

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

UH Environmental Science Senior Thesis Advisor (2003-2004): Advised Derek Cuny during his senior thesis project, entitled “Tissue turnover rates in captive yellowfin tuna as determined by stable isotope analysis.”

Graduate Teaching Assistant (2000-2002): Taught the ‘Concepts of Reality through Physical Science Lab' (MSU, Dr. Lopushinsky).

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (1999): Co-Taught 'Introduction to Entomology Lab' (UMD, Dr. V. Borden).

COMMUNITY SERVICE

OS/ASLO Ocean Sciences Graduate Student Volunteer (2004 & 2006).

ACS Forum Coordinator (2002): Coordinated a meeting for graduate students and post docs on chemical earth sciences sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Central Regional chapter (Dr. K. Anderson, Argonne National Laboratory).

Dean's Student Advisory Committee Member (2000-2001): Graduate student advisor to the MSU Dean of Natural Sciences.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:  American Society of Limnology and Oceanography

AWARDS

• 4th International Billfish Symposium Travel Grant Award (2005)

• UH Lenoida Fisheries Research Scholarship (2004)

• University of Arizona, Nyanza Project Participant (2004)

• UH Dept. Oceanography STAR Symposium Award (2003)

• UH Tester’s Symposium Seminar Award (2003)

• PFRP Graduate Student Research Assistantship (2002-present)

• MSU Graduate Office Fellowship (2001)

• MSU Neal Research and Scholarship Endowed Fellowship (2001).

• MSU Academic Achievement Graduate Assistantship (2000).

• The National Science Award (1998)

• All-American Scholar (1998)

• UMD UROP Award (1997-98)

• NSF REU Award (1996)

PUBLICATIONS

Graham, B.S, D. Grubbs, K. Holland, and B.N. Popp. (2006). Rapid ontogenic dietary shift in juvenile yellowfin tuna. In press in Marine Biology.

Popp, B.N., B.S. Graham, R.J. Olson, C.C.S. Hannides, M. Lott, G. Lopez-Ibarra, and F. Galvan-Magana. (2006). Insight into the trophic ecology of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, from compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis of proteinaceous amino acids. In T. Dawson and R. Seigwolf [eds.], Isotopes as tracers in ecological change. Elsevier. In Press.

Graham, B.S, B.N. Popp, B. Fry, and K. Holland. (In preparation). Tissue turnover rates calculated from captive and wild yellowfin tuna, Thunnus alabacares: implications for using chemical tags in migration studies.

Graham, B.S., P.H. Ostrom, D.T. Chaloner, and F. Li. Temporal and spatial variability in the incorporation of marine-derived nutrients delivered by spawning salmon to Alaskan streams. In preparation for Freshwater Biology.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS and ABSTRACTS

B. Fry, N. Cormier, and B. Graham. Invited talk at the Univ. of Wisconsin, Miliwaukee (2006). Adventures in Isotopia, the wide Pacific and Beyond.

B. Graham, B. Popp, V. Allain, R. Olson, F. Galvan, and B. Fry. Ocean Sciences Meeting Honolulu, HI (2006). Isotope biogeography and trophic dynamics of top predators in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. CLIOTOP special session.

B. Graham, B. Popp, V. Allain, R. Olson, F. Galvan, and B. Fry. PFRP PI meeting (2005). Isotope biogeography and trophic dynamics of tuna collected in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

R. Olson, B. Graham, F. Galvan-Magana, B. Popp, V. Allain, and B. Fry. PFRP PI meeting (2005). Seeking trophic clarity: linking stable isotopes and stomach contents in the pelagic eastern Pacific Ocean.

V. Allain, B. Graham, B. Fry, R. Olson, F. Galvan-Magana, and B. Popp. PFRP PI meeting (2005). Diets of tunas in the Pacific Ocean.

B. Graham, V. Allain, R. Olson, B. Popp, F. Galvan, R. Humpreys, and B. Popp. 4^th International Billfish Symposium Avalon, California (2005). Isotope biogeography and trophic dynamics of billfish collected in the equatorial Pacific Ocean as determined by stable isotope analyses. Travel Grant Award.

B. Graham and P. McInytre. Nyanza Project Meeting, Dar Es Salem, Tanzania (2004). Indirect and direct effects of fish herbivory on nitrogen cycling in nearshore Lake Tanganyika.

B. Graham, K. Holland, D. Grubbs, D. Itano, B. Fry, V. Allain, R. Olson, F. Galvan, and B. Popp. 55^th International Tuna Conference (2004). Natural and experimental diet shifts in yellowfin tuna as tracked by stable isotope analysis.

B. Graham, K. Holland, D. Grubbs, B. Popp, and B. Fry. International Stable Isotope Ecology Meeting Wellington, New Zealand (2004). Tuna trophic dynamics in Hawaiian waters: Are there differences in the d¹⁵N of mesopelagic and epipelagic food webs? POSTER.

R. Olson, B. Graham, V. Allain, F. Galvan, B. Popp, and B. Fry. PFRP PI Meeting (2004). Key pelagic prey and their tuna predators: Isotope ecology in the eastern tropical Pacific.

V. Allain, B. Graham, B. Popp, R. Olson, F. Galvan and B. Fry. PFRP PI Meeting (2004). Diet of yellowfin tuna in the Pacific Ocean.

B. Graham, K. Holland, D. Grubbs, V. Allain, R. Olson, B. Popp, F. Galvan, and B. Fry. International Tuna Conference, Lake Arrowhead, CA (2003). Tuna trophic dynamics in the western, central, and eastern tropical Pacific.  

B. Graham, V. Allain, K. Holland, D. Grubbs, B. Fry, R. Olson, F. Galvan, and B. Popp. PFRP PI Meeting (2003). Chemical clues: stable isotopes and tuna.

B. Graham, B. Popp, T. Rust, K. Holland, D. Grubbs, D. Itano, V. Allain, R. Olson, F. Galvan, and B. Fry. PFRP PI meeting, Honolulu, HI (2002). Examining tuna trophic dynamics using stable isotope analysis: “The Hawaiian Template.”

B. Graham, P. Ostrom, and D. Chaloner. ASLO Conference, Victoria, BC (2002). The delivery of marine-derived nutrients to lotic ecosystems: an inter-annual and between-system study.

B. Graham, P. Ostrom, D. Chaloner, R. Merritt, G. Lamberti, and M. Wipfli. NABS Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (2002). The incorporation of marine-derived nutrients in Southeast Alaskan streams: similarities and variability in carbon and nitrogen isotopes.

J. Hudson, M. Wipfli, N. Mitchell, J. Caoutte, R. Heintz, D. Chaloner, B. Graham, C. Crenshaw, J. Lessard, G. Lamberti, R. Merritt, P. Ostrom, and J. Tank. NABS Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (2002). Salmon carcasses vs. fertilizer: stream food web responses to organic and inorganic nutrient enrichment in Southeast Alaska.

B. Graham, P. Ostrom, D. Chaloner, R. Merritt, G. Lamberti, and M. Wipfli. NABS Conference, Lacrosse, WI (2001). Influences of marine-derived nutrients from salmon on stream food webs as revealed by stable isotope analysis.  

D. Chaloner, G. Lamberti, M. Wipfli, R. Merritt, P. Ostrom, N. Mitchell, J. Lessard, B. Graham, B. Wright, and J. Hudson. NABS Conference, Lacrosse, WI(2001). Ecological consequences of salmon enrichment for streams: where do marine-derived nutrients go?

N. Ostrom, M. Russ, P. Ostrom, M. Gedeon, R. Sutka, and B. Graham. AGU Fall Conference, San Francisco, CA (2000). Spatial and storm related changes in primary production and organic matter cycling in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific.