Contact Information
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences337 Irving II
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-7616
mincks@sfos.uaf.edu
Sarah Mincks Presidential IPY Postdoctoral Fellow
Specialties
- Benthic ecology
- Polar marine invertebrates
- Molecular taxonomy and evolutionary studies
- Reproduction and recruitment in marine invertebrates
- Benthic-pelagic coupling
Education
- B.A. 1996 University of California Santa Cruz (Marine Biology)
- M.S. 1998 San Francisco State University (Marine Biology)
- Ph.D. 2005 University of Hawaii (Oceanography)
Research Overview
I am interested in the influences surface ocean variability (e.g., ice cover, primary production), on ecological processes at the seafloor--sometimes referred to as "benthic-pelagic coupling." My current projects focus on benthic communities in polar and deep-sea regions, and I am particularly interested in reproductive strategies, dispersal, and recruitment of organisms to these communities. The goals of this work are to understand the ecological processes that have shaped evolutionary history at the sea floor, and to use this information to predict how a changing climate might impact marine ecosystems in the future.
Links
- UAF Newsroom: Young Researchers Contribute to Polar Legacy
- International Polar Year at the University of Alaska
- Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
In the News
- International Polar Year Researchers: Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows
- Bulletin of the Royal Society, April 2007 (53 KB PDF)
Selected Publications
Mincks, S.L., C.R. Smith, R.M. Jeffreys, P.Y.G. Sumida (In Press) Trophic relationships among benthic megafauna on the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf: A stable isotopes approach. Deep-Sea Research II.
Smith, C.R., S.L. Mincks, D.J. DeMaster (In Press) The FOODBANCS Project: Introduction and sinking fluxes of organic carbon, chlorophyll-a and phytodetritus on the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Deep-Sea Research II.
Glover, A.G., C.R. Smith, S.L. Mincks, P.Y.G. Sumida, A. Thurber (In Press) Macrofaunal abundance and composition on the West Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf: Evidence for a sediment "food bank" and similarities to deep-sea habitats. Deep-Sea Research II.
Mincks, S.L., C.R. Smith (2007) Recruitment patterns in Antarctic shelf sediments: Evidence of decoupling from seasonal phytodetritus pulses. Polar Biology 30: 587-600. Download 811 KB PDF.
Smith, C.R., S.L. Mincks, D.J. DeMaster (2006) A synthesis of bentho-pelagic coupling on the Antarctic Shelf: Food banks, ecosystem inertia and global climate change. Deep-Sea Research II 53: 875-894. Download 696 KB PDF.
Mincks, S.L., C.R. Smith, D.J. DeMaster (2005) Persistence of labile organic matter and microbial biomass in Antarctic shelf sediments: Evidence of a sediment “food bank.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 300: 3-19. Download 461 KB PDF.
Mincks, S.L., S.M. Bollens, L.P. Madin, E. Horgan, M. Butler, P.M. Kremer, J.E. Craddock (2000) Distribution, abundance, and feeding ecology of decapods in the Arabian Sea, with implications for vertical flux. Deep-Sea Research II 47: 1475-1516. Download 783 KB PDF.
Reports (copies available on request)
Mincks, S.L., C.R. Smith (2005) Summary of Benthic Biological Data Availability from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and Adjoining Areas (including collection techniques, geographic locations, major geographic gaps, and potentially untapped data sources). Report to the International Seabed Authority, Geological Model Phase I. 18 pp.
Mincks, S.L., C.R. Smith (2006) Critical review of benthic biological data from the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) and adjoining areas. Report to the International Seabed Authority, Geological Model Phase II. 23 pp.
Smith, C.R., J. Drazen, S.L. Mincks (2006) Deep-sea Biodiversity and Biogeography: Perspectives from the Abyss. Report to the International Seabed Authority, Seamount Biodiversity Symposium. 13 pp.