Thomas Trott, Associate Professor

Thomas J. Trott, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Biology
Suffolk University

41 Temple Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02114-4280

Phone: (617) 305-1968

Fax: (617) 573-8245
ttrott@suffolk.edu

Office: Donahue building, room #516

 

Research Interests

• Marine Community Ecology
• Coastal Ecological Processes
• Historical Ecology
• Marine Zoogeography

Education

Boston University

Ph.D. – Biology, 1990, Boston University Marine Program, Boston and Woods Hole, MA
Dissertation: Chemoreception by the Western Atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Frabricius)

Wake Forest University

M.A. – Biology, 1978, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Dissertation: Trail following by the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say)

University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

B.S. – Marine Science (Biology), 1976, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA

 

Employment

2006-present, Associate Professor of Biology, Suffolk University
1999-2006, Assistant Professor of Biology, Suffolk University
1999-present, Research Associate, R.S. Friedman Field Station, Edmunds, Maine 
1998-1999, Assistant Education Coordinator, R. S. Friedman Field Station
1995-1998, Visiting Scientist, Boston University Marine Program, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
1991-1992, Biologist, Advanced Report Writer, Springborn Laboratories, Inc., Wareham, MA 
1989-1990, NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, New York
1982-1989, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Crustacean Biology, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
1980-1981, Research Assistant, Boston University Marine Program, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Articles

Trott, T.J. 2007. Zoogeography and changes in macroinvertebrate community diversity
of rocky intertidal habitats on the Maine coast. Pages 54-73 in Challenges in
Environmental Management in the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine. Proceedings of the 7th
Bay of Fundy Science Workshop, St. Andrews, NB, Oct. 24-27th, 2006. G. W. Pohle,
P.G.Wells and S.J. Rolston, eds. Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership, Technical Report No. 3. February, 2007. Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS.
Trott, T.J. 2007. Can biodiversity be measured independent of sampling effort? Pages
263-266 in Challenges in Environmental Management in the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of

Maine. Proceedings of the 7th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop, St. Andrews, NB, Oct.
24-27th, 2006. G. W. Pohle, P.G.Wells and S.J. Rolston, eds. Bay of Fundy Ecosystem
Partnership, Technical Report No. 3. February, 2007. Bay of Fundy Ecosystem
Partnership, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS.
Trott, T.J. 2005. Qualitative faunal changes during the late 20th century in Cobscook Bay,
Maine. Pp. 324 – 352. In: J.A. Percy, A.J. Evans, P.G. Wells, and S.J. Rolston. (Eds.).
Proceedings of the 6th Bay of Fundy Workshop, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. Environment
Canada-Atlantic Region. Occasional Report No. 23. Environment Canada, Dartmouth,
N.S. and Sackville, N.B. 480 pp. + xliv.
Trott, T.J. 2004. Cobscook inventory: a historical checklist of marine invertebrates
spanning 162 years. Northeastern Naturalist 11 (Special Issue 2): 261-324.
Trott, T.J. 2004. Late 20th century qualitative intertidal faunal changes in a boreal
macrotidal estuary, Cobscook Bay. Northeastern Naturalist 11 (Special Issue 2): 325-354.
Trott, T.J. 1999. Gustatory responses of ghost crab Ocypode quadrata to seawater extracts
and chemical fractions of natural stimuli. Journal of Chemical Ecology 25: 375-388.
Trott, T.J. 1998. Gustatory responses of Priapulus caudatus De Lamarck, 1816 (Priapulida,
Priapulidae): feeding behavior and chemoreception by a living fossil. Marine Behavior and
Physiology 31: 251-257.
Trott, T.J., R. Voigt, and J. Atema. 1997. Chemoreception by the red-jointed fiddler crab
Uca minax (Le Conte): Spectral tuning properties of the walking legs. Marine Behavior
and Physiology 30: 239-249.
Trott, T.J., R. Voigt, and J. Atema. 1995. Spectral tuning properties of the walking legs of
the red-jointed fiddler crab. Chemical Senses 20: 794.
Book Reviews
Trott, T.J. 1988. Biology of the Land Crabs. Journal of Crustacean Biology 8:711.
Technical Reports
Trott, T.J. 2006. Intertidal biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine: detecting patterns of diversity
and community change. Census of Marine Life Gulf of Maine Project, Sloan Foundation.
Trott, T.J. 2003. Intertidal Communities of Rocky Shore Habitats in Cobscook Bay, Maine:
the influences of hydrodynamics, exposure, and sediment. The Nature Conservancy,
Maine Chapter.
Trott, T.J. 2002. Status of the Marine Invertebrate Critical Areas in Cobscook Bay, Maine.
The Nature Conservancy, Maine Chapter.

Recent Oral Presentations

Trott, T.J. 2008. History of the Nearshore Synthesis Plan. Simon Bolivar University, Caracas, Venezuela, Natural Geography in Shore Areas of the Census of Marine Life
Trott, T.J. 2008. How I Became A Marine Scientist. University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine. Telling Your Story workshop, sponsored by the Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence-New England and the Gulf of Maine Area Program of the Census of Marine Life
http://www.cosee-ne.net/edu_project_3/TYSatUSM.htm
Trott, T.J. 2008. Maine’s Nearshore History. 37th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Providence,
Rhode Island
Trott, T.J. 2007. Rocky Intertidal Ecology of Coastal Maine. Ferry Beach Ecology School, Saco, Maine. Presentation to teaching interns.
Trott, T.J. 2007. Monitoring Intertidal Community Diversity: Faunal Shifts, Local Extinctions, and
Abundance Variations. New England Estuarine Research Society, Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Trott, T.J. 2006. Historical perspective of community diversity of rocky intertidal habitats on
the Maine coast. Proceedings of the 7th Bay of Fundy Workshop, St. Andrews, NB.

Current Professional Activities

2008-present, Chair, History of the Nearshore Synthesis Project, Census of Marine Life
2007-present, Gulf of Maine Council for the Environment, Climate Change Indicator Partnership, Aquatics Indicators Subcommittee
2006-present, Editorial Board, Northeastern Naturalist, Allen Press
2004-present, Steering and Systematics Committees, Biodiversity Discovery Corridor, Canada
2003-present, Scientific Steering Committee, Census of Marine Life Gulf of Maine Area Program, USA

Current Grant Support

2008, History of the Nearshore Synthesis Project, Census of Marine Life Natural Geography in
Shore Areas
2008, A synthesis of intertidal community biodiversity; contributions of the nearshore to the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Census of Marine Life Gulf of Maine Area Program
2008, The effects of rockweed, Ascophyllum nodosum, harvesting on associated macroinvertebrate fauna in Cobscook Bay, Maine. State of Maine Department of Marine Resources
2008, Assessing intertidal macroinvertebrate communities of Cobscook Bay and the Maine coast with a field sampling program for Cobscook Bay introducing the Natural Geography of Shore Areas (NaGISA) into the Gulf of Maine. Census of Marine Life/NaGISA, History of Natural Shores Program (HNS), Sloan Foundation

Courses Taught

Biology 202- Scientific Writing in Biology
Biology 315- Animal Behavior
Biology 333- Ecology
Biology L333- Ecology Laboratory
Biology 355- Invertebrate Biology
Biology L355-Invertebrate Biology Laboratory