Contact Information
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences252 O'Neill
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-6825
Fax: (907) 474-7204
mikec@ims.uaf.edu
Michael Castellini Professor
Affiliations
- Associate Dean
Specialties
- population health of marine mammals
- harbor seal physiology
- Steller sea lion biochemistry
- Antarctic seal diving physiology
Education
- Ph.D. 1981 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego (Marine Biology)
Research Overview
Projects in our laboratory have focused many different aspects of marine mammal biology and medicine. Some of these include nutritional physiology of harbor seals and Steller sea lions in Alaska as related to their population declines and to the survival of seal and sea lion pups. Other projects include studies on lipid metabolism in marine mammals, the biochemistry of contaminants, metal chemistry, high pressure physiology and even sleep patterns in seals. These programs are conducted in the field and around the world.
Recently, I have participated in a large series of public outreach programs discussing climate change, the Arctic and Antarctic and how animals at those locations are critically dependent on sea ice. Most of this outreach has come through the National Science Foundation funded program to Passport To Knowledge entitled “Polar Palooza: Stories from a Changing Planet”. I have included the web site link for them below.
We have also just recently been funded, again through NSF, to start a Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE). This program aims to bring scientists and the school children together in Alaska on the issue of climate change and the impact on our oceans. There are 11 COSEE centers around the country, all with different themes. The COSEE link is also given below, though the Alaska site is brand new and not yet up on the Web.
With my relatively recent increase in administration roles within SFOS as Associate Dean, my time in the laboratory and in classrooms has begun to decline. I have chaired or co-chaired 16 PhD or MS students and been a committee member on dozens. I no longer have the time that I feel is necessary to dedicate to students as a sole chair, but am more than willing to be on committees or co-chair new students. My philosophy has always been that my job is to train students in how to move into science as a career and I have helped them develop degrees that focus on whether the student wishes to work for agencies, universities, private consulting or even, none of the above! Many of my students are now successful faculty, agency scientists, veterinarians, and underwater photographers.
Current Research Projects
- Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence
Links
- Download curriculum vita (128 kb PDF)
- Interview with Carin Bailey Stephens for the SFOS Newsletter
From spying on scorpions with a black light to studying two-ton elephant seals with sleep apnea, Mike Castellini has always wanted to know how animals adapt to their environment. One of the preeminent Weddell seal experts in the world and the associate dean of the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Dr. Castellini’s life reads like a scientific adventure story. - Polar Palooza
This is the link to the large outreach program dealing with climate change and the poles. Excellent sites within here on education, science and polar exploration including blogs, podcasts,downloadable teaching modules and more! - COSEE
This is the national site for COSEE. We are so new that we don't have our WWW Alaska COSEE site up yet, but please browse through here and come back for Alaska updates.
Selected Publications
Castellini, M.A. History of polar whaling: insights into the physiology of the great whales. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 126A:153-159. 2000.
Burns, J.M., J.W. Testa and MA Castellini. Movements and diving behavior of weaned Weddell seal pups. Polar Biology. 21:23-36. 1999.
Burns, J.M., S.J. Trumble, MA Castellini and J.W. Testa. The diet of Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, as determined from scat collections and stable isotope analysis. Polar Biology. 19:272-282. 1998.
Rea, L.D., MA Castellini, B.S. Fadely and T.R. Loughlin. Health status of young Alaska Steller sea lion pups as indicated by blood chemistry and hematology. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 120 A: 617-623. 1998.
Zenteno-Savin, T., and MA Castellini. 1998. Changes in the plasma levels of vasoactive hormones during apnea in seals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 119C: 7-12.
Zenteno-Savin, T., MA Castellini. 1998. Plasma angiotensin II, arninine vasopressin and atrial natriuretic peptide in free ranging and captive seals and sea lions. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 119C: 1-6.
Burns, J.M., J.F. Schreer and MA Castellini. 1997. Physiological effects on individual dive patterns and foraging strategies in yearling Weddell seals. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 75:1796-1810.
Rea, L.D., Groscolas, R, Mioskowski, E., and M. Castellini. 1997. Changes in plasma fatty acids lipids indicated change in nutritional status in developing Weddell seal pups. Polar Biology. 18:351-357.
Zenteno-Savin, T., MA Castellini, L.D. Rea and B.S. Fadely. 1997. Plasma haptoglobin levels in threatened Alaskan pinniped populations. Journal Wildlife Diseases. 33(1): 64-71.
Castellini, MA and T. Zenteno-Savin. 1997. Heart rate scaling with body mass in pinnipeds. Marine Mammal Science. 13(1): 149-155.
Moss, J.M. and MA Castellini. 1996. Physiological and behavioral determinants of the aerobic dive limit in Weddell seal pups (Leptonychotes weddellii). Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 166:473-483.
Milson, W., M. Castellini, M. Harris, J. Castellini, D. Jones, R. Berger, S. Bahrma, L. Rea and D. Costa. 1996. Effects of hypoxia and hypercapnia on patterns of sleep-associated apnea in elephant seal pups. American Journal of Physiology. R271: R1017-1024.
Castellini, MA 1996. Dreaming about diving: Sleep apnea in seals. News in Physiological Sciences, American Journal of Physiology. 11:208-214.