OCTOBER MEETING

Our program speaker for October is Anton E. Oleinik a professor in the Department of Geosciences Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton. His research centers on critical intervals in the Cenozoic history, such as the Eocene-Oligocene transition from the Greenhouse to the Icehouse world, Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, and the first opening of the Bering Strait. These changes produced a series of profound changes in the high-latitude biota, including pulses of diversification and extinction

His current research is primarily focused on the biodiversity, paleogeography, and isotopic record of paleoclimates in the poorly studied areas of the northern Pacific
(Alaska and Kamchatka). He teaches: Sedimentation and Stratigraphy, Coastal and Marine Science, Environmental Issues in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Global Environmental Change, and runs a Geology Field Camp. 

Dr. Oleinik is no stranger to the Broward Shell Club, having given us several programs in the past. I know you will enjoy this Pompano based program. 

Carole

His program is

Hidden treasures of Pompano Beach’s shallow waters: a glimpse at the enigmatic world of Broward County marine mollusks

Brief synopsis:

Mollusk diversity patterns is shallow-water habitats off Broward County, were assessed by 49 SCUBA-based roving surveys along contrasting bottom-types at depths ranging between 2.5 and 8 m and within 600 m of the coastal zone. Surveys were conducted between 2011 and 2019. Bottom types vary from quartz and skeletal sand to rubble consisting of late Holocene (1800 – 3200 ybp) coral fragments, and Pleistocene bedrock, forming hard bottom flats, ledges, and drop-offs with significant vertical relief. Most of these bottom types are located within the nearshore ridge complex (NRC). Roving surveys yielded 119 species of marine gastropods belonging to 42 families. Differences in mollusk community structure between bottom types and survey season, based on the presence/absence data were analyzed using non-parametric (nMDS) ordination techniques. The analysis suggests minor but noticeable differences in species composition between bottom types, with no significant differences in mollusk occurrences detected between observation seasons.