• Associate Professor, Natural Resources
• Director, UNH Marine Program
• Director, Jackson Estuarine Laboratory
• Director, New Hampshire Sea Grant College Program

Research

My research examines the dynamics of phytoplankton in their physical and chemical environment with a focus on better understanding human impacts on coastal marine food webs. Recent research in my laboratory is directed at gaining a better understanding of (1) the role of nutrients and light in the regulation of phytoplankton production in estuarine and near-coastal marine systems, (2) the application of satellite remote sensing to understanding near-shore production dynamics, (3) harmful algal bloom dynamics in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and (4) the influences of land-use and land-change on the estuarine nutrient dynamics and coastal food webs.

One current research project is attempting to quantify the biogeochemical regulation of nutrient dynamics in three tributary estuaries to Mobile Bay, Alabama that have distinctly different land-uses. This research seeks to identify relationships between land-use change and the input and internal processing of nutrients (e.g. from denitrification and phytoplankton sequestration) in estuarine ecosystems. A second ongoing project is examining the factors that regulate the distribution and bloom formation of harmful algal species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Finally, my research group is involved in both real-time and monthly monitoring of the Great Bay estuary, NH in an effort to relate land-use pressures on nutrient and contaminant delivery to the system.

Graduate Students

Selected Publications

Carey, A. E., C. A. Nezat, J. R. Pennock, T. Jones and W. B. Lyons. 2003. Nitrogen budget of the Mobile-Alabama River system watershed. Geochemistry Exploration & Environmental Analysis. 3:239-244.

Heck, K. L. Jr., J. R. Pennock, J. F. Valentine, L. D. Coen and S. A. Sklenar. 2000. Effects of nutrient enrichment and large predator removal on seagrass nursery habitats: an experimental assessment. Limnol. Oceanogr. 45(5): 1041-1057.

Lores, E. M. and J. R. Pennock. 1999. Bioavailability and trophic transfer of humic-bound copper from bacteria to zooplankton. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 187:67-75.

Pennock, J. R., T. Whitledge, J. Boyer, J. Herrera Silveira, and R. Iverson. 1999. Patterns of phytoplankton production and nutrient uptake in estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico, p. 109-162. In: Bianchi, T. S., J. R. Pennock and R. R. Twilley [eds.]. Biogeochemical Dynamics of Estuarine Ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. John Wiley & Sons.

Cowan, J. L. W., J. R. Pennock and W. R. Boynton. 1996. Seasonal and inter-annual patterns of sediment-water nutrient and oxygen fluxes in Mobile Bay, Alabama (USA): Regulating factors and ecological significance. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 141:229-245.

Pennock, J. R., D. J. Velinsky, J. Ludlam, J. H. Sharp, and M. L. Fogel. 1996. Isotopic fractionation of ammonium and nitrate during uptake by Skeletonema costatum: Implications for d 15N dynamics under nutrient-enriched conditions. Limnology and Oceanography 41(3):451-459.

Pennock, J. R. and J. H. Sharp. 1994. Temporal alteration between light- and nutrient limitation of phytoplankton production in a coastal plain estuary. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 111(3):275-288.

Stumpf, R. P., G. Gelfenbaum and J. R. Pennock. 1993. Wind and Tidal Forcing of a Buoyant Plume, Mobile Bay, Alabama. Continental Shelf Research 13:1281-1301.

Stumpf, R. P. and J. R. Pennock. 1991. Remote estimation of the diffuse attenuation coefficient in a moderately turbid estuary. Remote Sensing of Environment 38:183-191.

Cifuentes, L. A., M. L. Fogel, J. R. Pennock and J. H. Sharp. 1989. Seasonal variations in the stable nitrogen isotope ratio of dissolved ammonium in the Delaware Estuary. Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta 53:2713-2721.

Velinsky, D. J., L. A. Cifuentes, J. R. Pennock, J. H. Sharp and M. L. Fogel. 1989. Determination of the isotopic composition of ammonium-nitrogen at the natural abundance level from estuarine waters. Mar. Chem. 26:351-361.

Pennock, J. R. 1987. Temporal and spatial variability in phytoplankton ammonium and nitrate uptake in the Delaware Estuary. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 24:841-857.

Pennock, J.R. 1985. Chlorophyll distributions in the Delaware Estuary: regulation by light-limitation. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 21:711-725.

Education

Selected Service Activities

• UNH Campus Master Plan Committee (2003-Present)
• NHEP Technical Advisory Committee (2003-Present)
• Seacoast Science Center Board of Directors (2002-Present)
• COOA Advisory Committee (2002-Present)
• HABSOS Scientific Team Member (2001-Present)
• Florida Bay Science Oversight Panel (2001)
• Co-Chair, Gulf of Mexico Program Estuarine Hypoxia Research Committee (2000-2002)
• Member, Gulf of Mexico Program Harmful Algal Bloom Research Committee (2000-2001)
• Co-Chair, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Program Technical Review Panel (1999-2001)
• Secretary, Estuarine Research Federation (1997-1999)
• Associate Editor, Estuaries ( 1994 -1997)