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David W. Townsend

If you need to locate a faculty member with knowledge about particular functions of SMS (e.g., graduate admissions), you can find them on the list of current faculty committees.

David W. Townsend

Contact Information

David W. Townsend

Phone:
(207) 581-4367

Email/web:
davidt@maine.edu
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Address:
341 Aubert Hall
Orono, ME  04469-5706

Education

Ph.D. University of Maine

Research interests

My research is broadly focused on the biological oceanography of coastal seas, especially the Gulf of Maine. More specifically, I am interested in physical-biological coupling of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and larval fishes. In the past, these interests have lead me into detailed studies of larval herring dynamics in the Gulf of Maine, larval cod dynamics on Georges Bank, phytoplankton blooms dynamics, the spring bloom and nutrient dynamics on Georges Bank, and biological production (in the broadest sense) of Maine's estuaries. My current research projects are focused on phytoplankton, nutrients and red tides in the Gulf of Maine. Most of my work is heavily dependent on shipboard oceanographic surveys, as opposed to land-based laboratory experiments. I prefer to approach specific research problems in an interdisciplinary manner and to propose solutions to those problems that require the formation of teams of researchers that include physical, chemical and biological oceanographers.

Publications

  • Brickley, P., N.R. Pettigrew and D.W. Townsend. ms. A transient phytoplankton bloom in the wake of Hurricane Eduoard by mixing and inertial waves in the western Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Research (In Revision).
  • Townsend, D.W. and W.G. Ellis. 2008. Primary production and nutrient cycling on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf. In: Liu, K.K., L. Atkinson, R. Quinones, and L. Talaue McManus (eds). Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Continental Margins: A Global Synthesis. Springer Verlag New York. (In Press)
  • Hu, S., D.W. Townsend, C. Chen, G. Cowles, R.C. Beardsley, R. Ji, R.W. Houghton. (ms.) Tidal Pumping onto Georges Bank: A Process-Oriented Modeling Study of Nutrient Flux. J. Marine Systems (In Review)
  • Anderson, D.M., J.M. Burkholder, W.P. Cochlan, P.M. Glibert, C.J. Gobler, C.A. Heil, R. Kudela, M.L. Parsons, J.E. Rensel, D.W. Townsend, V.L. Trainer, G.A. Vargo. (ms.) Harmful Algal Blooms and Eutrophication: Examples of possible linkages from selected coastal regions of the United States. Harmful Algal Blooms (In Review)
  • McGillicuddy, D.J ., Anderson, D.M., Stock, C.A., Lynch, D.R. and D.W. Townsend. (ms) Modeling blooms of Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine. Submitted, Habwatch book.
  • Ralston, D.K., D.J. McGillicuddy and D.W. Townsend. 2007. Asynchronous vertical migration and bimodal distribution of motile phytoplankton. J. Plankton Res. 29: 803-821.
  • Ji, R., C. S. Davis, C. Chen, D. W. Townsend, D. G. Mountain, and R. C. Beardsley. 2007. Influence of ocean freshening on shelf phytoplankton dynamics, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L24607, doi:10.1029/2007GL032010.
  • Townsend, D.W.,A.C. Thomas, L.M. Mayer, M. Thomas and J. Quinlan. 2006. Oceanography of the Northwest Atlantic Continental Shelf. pp. 119-168. In: Robinson, A.R. and K.H. Brink (eds). The Sea, Volume 14, Harvard University Press.
  • Ji, R., C. Chen, P.J.S. Franks, D.W. Townsend, E.G. Durbin, R.C. Beardsley, R.G. Lough, and R.W. Houghton. 2006. The impact of Scotian Shelf Water cross-over on the phytoplankton dynamics on Georges Bank: A 3-D experiment for the 1999 spring bloom.Deep-Sea Research II. 53: 2684–2707.
  • Ji, R., C. Chen, P.J.S. Franks, D.W. Townsend, E.G. Durbin, R.C. Beardsley, R.G. Lough, and R.W. Houghton. 2006. Spring Phytoplankton Bloom and Associated Lower Trophic Level Food Web Dynamics on Georges Bank: 1-D and 2-D Model Studies. Deep-Sea Research II. 53: 2656–2683.
  • D.M. Anderson, D.W. Townsend, D.J. McGillicuddy Jr. and J.T. Turner (eds). 2005. The Ecology and Oceanography of Toxic it Alexandrium fundyense Blooms in the Gulf of Maine. Deep Sea Research II, 52: 2365 2876.
  • Townsend, D.W., N.R. Pettigrew and A.C. Thomas. 2005. On the nature of Alexandrium fundyense blooms in the Gulf of Maine. Deep Sea Research II, 52: 2603 2630.
  • Townsend, D.W., S. Bennett and M. Thomas. 2005. Vertical distributions of Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine. Deep-Sea Research II, 52: 2593 2602.
  • McGillicuddy, D.J., D.M. Anderson, D.R. Lynch and D.W. Townsend. 2005. Mechanisms regulating the large-scale fluctuations in Alexandrium fundyense populations in the Gulf of Maine, Deep-Sea Research II, 52: 2698 2714.
  • McGillicuddy, Jr., D.M. Anderson, A.R. Solow, and D.W. Townsend. 2005. Interannual variability of Alexandrium fundyense abundance and shellfish toxicity in the Gulf of Maine Deep-Sea Research II, 52: 2843 2855.
  • Kirn, S.L., D.W. Townsend and N.R. Pettigrew. 2005. Suspended Alexandrium spp. hypnozygote cysts in the Gulf of Maine. Deep-Sea Research II, 52: 2543 2559.
  • Pettigrew. N.R., J.H. Churchill, C.D. Janzen, L.J. Mangum, R.P. Signell, A.C. Thomas, D.W. Townsend, J.P. Wallinga, and H. Xue. 2005. The kinematic and hydrographic structure of the Gulf of Maine Coastal Current. Deep-Sea Research II, 52: 2369 2391.
  • Townsend, D.W. and J. Pederson. 2004. Aspects of the oceanography of the Gulf of Maine relevant to ballast water issues. Pp. 29-37 In: Pederson, J. (Ed). Ballast Water Exchange: Exploring the Feasibility of Alternate Ballast Water Exchange Zones in the North Atlantic. MIT Sea Grant College Program.
  • Townsend, D.W. 2004. Review of: Parsons, T., The Seas Enthrawl: Memoirs of an Oceanographer. Ecce Nova Press, 2004. Oceanography 17: 138-139.
  • Thomas, A.C., D.W. Townsend and R. Weatherbee. 2003. Satellite-measured phytoplankton variability in the Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Research 23: 971-989.
  • Townsend, D.W. 2003. Review of: Levinton, J.S. (2001) Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology, 2nd Edition. Oxford. In: The Quarterly Review of Biology 78: 107.
  • Townsend, D.W. and M. Thomas. 2002. Springtime nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics on Georges Bank. Marine Ecology – Progress Series 228: 57-74.
  • Townsend, D.W. and A.C. Thomas. 2001. Winter-Spring Transition of Phytoplankton Chlorophyll and Inorganic Nutrients on Georges Bank. Deep-Sea Research II. 48: 199-214.
  • Townsend, D.W., N.R. Pettigrew and A.C. Thomas. 2001. Offshore blooms of the red tide organism, Alexandrium sp., in the Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Research 21: 347-369
  • Townsend, D.W. 2001. Review of: Castro, C. and M.E. Huber (2000) Marine Biology, 3rd Ed. 444p. McGraw-Hill. In: The Quarterly Review of Biology 76: 100.
  • Ryan, J.P., J.A. Yoder and D.W. Townsend. 2001. Influence of a Gulf Stream Warm-Core Ring on Water Mass and Chlorophyll Distributions along the Southern Flank of Georges Bank. Deep-Sea Research II. 48: 159-178.
  • Radtke, R.L., D.W. Townsend, R.A. Kinzie III and D. Fey. 1999. Two dimensional X-ray mapping of otoliths, a high resolution technique for determining amphidromy in the tropical goby Lentipes concolor. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 238: 21-27
  • Wong, M.W. and D.W. Townsend. 1999. Phytoplankton and hydrography of the Kennebec estuary, Maine (USA). Marine Ecology Progress Series 178: 133-144.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1998. Sources and cycling of nitrogen in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Marine Systems 16 (3/4): 283-295.
  • Pettigrew, N.R., D.W. Townsend, H. Xue, J.P. Wallinga and P. Brickley. 1998. Observations of the Eastern Maine Coastal Current and its Offshore Extensions in 1994. Journal of Geophysical Research. 103 (C13): 30,623 - 30,639.
  • Townsend, D.W. and N.R. Pettigrew. 1997. Nitrogen limitation of secondary production on Georges Bank. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 221-235.
  • Pettigrew, N.R., D.A. Kistner, G.B. Barbin, A.K. Laursen, D.W. Townsend, and J.P. Christensen. 1997. The summer hydrography of Somes Sound. Maine Naturalist. 4: 35-44.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1997. Review of: Conkling, P.h. [Ed.]. 1995. From Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy: An Environmental Atlas of the Gulf of Maine. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 258pp. In: Limnology and Oceanography 41: 1586-1587 (1997).
  • Townsend, D.W. 1997. Biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the Gulf of Maine. In: Braasch, G. and G. Wallace (eds.). Proceedings of Gulf of Maine Ecosystem Dynamics: a Scientific Symposium and Workshop, 16-20 Sept. 1996, St. Andrew’s, N.B., pp. 117-134.
  • Townsend, D.W. and M.D. Keller. 1996. Dimethylsulfide (DMS) and Dimethylsulfonio-propionate (DMSP) in the Gulf of Maine. Marine Ecology Progress Series 137: 229-241.
  • Townsend, D.W. and N.R. Pettigrew. 1996. The role of frontal currents in larval fish transport on Georges Bank. Deep-Sea Research II. 43: 1773-1792.
  • Laursen, A.K., L.M. Mayer and D.W Townsend. 1996. Lability of proteinaceaus material in estuarine seston and subcellular fractions of phytoplankton. Marine Ecology Progress Series 136: 227-234.
  • Townsend, D.W., R.L. Radtke, D. Malone and J.P. Wallinga. 1995. Use of otolith strontium : calcium ratios for hindcasting larval cod Gadus morhua distributions relative to water masses on Georges Bank. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 119: 37-44.
  • Christensen, J.P., D.W. Townsend and J.P. Montoya. 1995. Water column nutrients and sedimentary denitrification in the Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Res. 16: 489-516.
  • Townsend, D.W., M.D. Keller, P.M. Holligan, S.G. Ackleson and W.M. Balch. 1994. Coccolithophore blooms in relation to hydrography in the Gulf of Maine. Cont. Shelf Res. 14: 979-1000.
  • Townsend, D.W., L.M. Cammen, P.M. Holligan, D.E. Campbell and N.R. Pettigrew. 1994. Causes and consequences of variability in the timing of spring phytoplankton blooms. Deep-Sea Res. 41: 747-765.
  • Townsend, D.W., L.M. Mayer, Q. Dortch and R.W. Spinrad. 1992. Vertical structure and biological activity in the botton nepeloid layer of the Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Research 12: 367-387.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1992. Ecology of larval herring in relation to the oceanography of the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Plankton Research 14: 467-493.
  • Townsend, D.W. and P.F. Larsen (eds). 1992. The Gulf of Maine. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, Regional Synthesis Series, No. 1. 135 p.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1992. An overview of the oceanography and biological productivity of the Gulf of Maine. pp. 5-26 In: Townsend, D.W. and P.F. Larsen (eds). The Gulf of Maine. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, Regional Synthesis Series, No. 1. 135 p.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1992. Review of: Singer, S. Fred. 1989. Global Climate Change: Human and Natural Influences. Paragon, N.Y. 424 p. In: Environmental Management, 16(6): 822-823. (Nov/Dec, 1992).
  • Townsend, D.W., R.L. Radtke, S. Corwin and D.A. Libby. 1992. Strontium:calcium ratios in juvenile Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) otoliths as a function of temperature. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 160: 131-140.
  • Townsend, D.W., M.D. Keller, M.E. Sieracki and S.G. Ackleson. 1992. Spring phytoplankton blooms in the absence of vertical water column stability. Nature 360: 59-62.
  • Townsend, D.W. and H.H. El Rashidi. 1991. Ichthyoplankton of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Thalassia Jugoslavica 23: 65-73.
  • Radtke, R.L. and D.W. Townsend. 1991. Herring life history parameters resolved from structural and chemical analyses of otoliths. pp. 53-70. In: Proceedings of the International Herring Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, October 1990. University of Alaska Sea Grant Program Spec. Publ. AK-SG-91-01. 684 pp.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1991. Influences of oceanographic processes on the biological productivity of the Gulf of Maine. Reviews in Aquatic Sciences 5: 211-230.
  • Radtke, R.L., D.W. Townsend, S.D. Folsom and M.A. Morrison. 1990. Strontium:Calcium concentration ratios in larval herring otoliths as indicators of environmental histories. Envirnmental Biology of Fishes 27: 51-61
  • Townsend, D.W., R.L. Radtke, M.A. Morrison and S.D. Folsom. 1989. Recruitment implications of larval herring overwintering distributions in the Gulf of Maine, inferred using a new otolith technique. Marine Ecology - Progress Series 55: 1-13.
  • Brooks, D.A. and D.W. Townsend. 1989. Variability in the coastal current and nutrient pathways in the eastern Gulf of Maine. Journal of Marine Research 47: 303-321.
  • Townsend, D.W. and L.M. Cammen. 1988. Potential importance of the timing of spring plankton blooms to benthic-pelagic coupling and recruitment of juvenile demersal fishes. Biological Oceanography 5(3): 215-228.
  • Townsend, D.W., J.P. Christensen, T. Berman, P. Walline, A. Schneller and C.S. Yentsch. 1988. Near-bottom chlorophyll maxima in shelf waters of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea: Upwelling and sediments as possible nutrient sources. Oceanologica Acta N.Sp. 1988: 235-244.
  • Townsend, D.W. and P.M. Holligan. 1988. Review of: Backus, R.H. and D.W. Bourne. 1987. Georges Bank. MIT Press. 593 p. with P.M. Holligan. In: Science, 240: 1070-1071.
  • Dortch, Q., D.W. Townsend, R.W. Spinrad and L.M. Mayer. 1988. The role of nepheloid layers in benthic-pelagic coupling. NOAA Symp, Series for Underwater Research. 6(1): 181-204.
  • King, F.D., T.L. Cucci and D.W. Townsend. 1987. Microzooplankton and macrozooplankton glutamate dehydrogenase as indices of the relative contributions of these fractions to ammonium regeneration in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Plankton Research 9:277-289.
  • Townsend, D.W., J.P. Christensen, D.K. Stevenson, J.J. Graham and S.B. Chenoweth. 1987. The importance of a plume of tidally-mixed water to the biological oceanography of the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Marine Research 45: 699-728.
  • Berman, T., Y. Azov, A. Schneller, P. Walline and D.W. Townsend. 1986. Extent, transparency, and phytoplankton distribution of the neritic waters overlying the Israeli coastal shelf. Oceanologica Acta 9: 439-447.
  • Townsend, D.W. and R.W. Spinrad. 1986. Early spring phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of Maine. Continental Shelf Research 6(3): 515-529.
  • Townsend, D.W., J.J. Graham and D.K. Stevenson. 1986. Dynamics of larval herring production in tidally mixed waters of the eastern coastal Gulf of Maine. pp. 253-277. In: M.J. Bowman, C.M. Yentsch and W.T. Peterson (eds.). Tidal Mixing and Plankton Dynamics. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 502 p.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1985. Review of: Pitcher, T.J. and P.J.B. Hart. 1982. Fisheries Ecology. Avi Publishing Co., Westport, Conn. 414 p. In: National Fisherman, 1985.
  • Graham, J.J. and D.W. Townsend. 1985. Estimates of mortality, growth and transport for cohorts of larval Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, from Maine coastal waters. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 114: 490-498.
  • Berman, T., P.D. Walline, A. Schneller, J. Rothenberg and D.W. Townsend. 1985. Secchi disk depth record: A claim for the Eastern Mediterranean. Limnology and Oceanography 30(2): 447-448.
  • Townsend, D.W. and L.M. Cammen. 1985. A deep protozoan maximum in the Gulf of Maine. Marine Ecology - Progress Series 24: 177-182.
  • Townsend, D.W., T.L. Cucci and T. Berman. 1984. Subsurface chlorophyll maxima and vertical distributions of zooplankton in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Plankton Research 6(5): 793-802.
  • Berman, T., Y. Azov and D.W. Townsend. 1984. Understanding oligotrophic oceans: Can the eastern Mediterranean be a useful mode? In: O. Holm-Hansen, L. Bolis and R. Giles (eds.). Marine Phytoplankton and Productivity, pp. 101-112. Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies, Vol. 8. Springer-Verlag, NY.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1984. Comparison of inshore zooplankton and ichthyoplankton populations in the Gulf of Maine. Marine Ecology - Progress Series 15: 79-90.
  • Graham, J.J., B.J. Joule, C.L. Crosby and D.W. Townsend. 1984. Characteristics of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) spawning population along the Maine coast, inferred from larval studies. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Science 5(2): 131-142
  • Carlson, C.J., D.W. Townsend, A.L. Hillyard and J.F. Eaton. 1984. Effect of an intertidal mudflat on the plankton of the overlying water column. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 41: 1523-1528.
  • Berman, T., D.W. Townsend, S.Z. El-Sayed, C. Trees and Y. Azov. 1984. Optical transparency, chlorophyll and primary productivity in the eastern Mediterranean near the Israeli coast. Oceanologica Acta 7(3): 367-372.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1983. The relations between larval fishes and zooplankton in two inshore areas of the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Plankton Research 5(2): 145-173.
  • Townsend, D.W., C.M. Yentsch, W.M. Balch, E.D. True and C.E. Parker. 1983. An island mixing effect in the coastal Gulf of Maine. Helgolander Meeresunters 36: 347-356.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1983. Review of: Efremenko, V.N. Atlas of Fish Larvae of the Southern Ocean. Cybium, Bull. Soc. Fr., Ichthyol., Mus. Hist. Nat. Vol. 7(2), 1983. In: Biomass Newsletter, Vol. 5(1): 11, 1983.
  • Townsend, D.W. and R.F. Shaw. 1982. Daily growth increments in fish otoliths of blue whiting, Micromesistius poutassou (Risso) from above the Arctic Circle. Sarsia 67(3): 147-152.
  • Townsend, D.W. and J.J. Graham. 1981. Growth and age structure of larval herring (Clupea harengus L.) in the Sheepscot River estuary of Maine as determined by daily growth increments in otoliths. Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 79(1): 123-130.
  • Barker, S.L., D.W. Townsend and J.S. Hacunda. 1981. Mortalities of herring (Clupea harengus), smooth flounder (Liopsetta putnami) and smelt (Osmerus mordax) larvae exposed to acute thermal shock. Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 79(1): 198-200.
  • Townsend, D.W. 1980. Microstructural growth increments in some Antarctic fish otoliths. Cybium 3(8): 17-22.

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