Robinson W. Fulweiler

Current Research

My research is focused on understanding the impact humans have on marine systems. I am especially interested in how various scales of impact (e.g., local: nutrient loading and global: climate change) interact to alter fundamental ecosystem processes. As a biogeochemist and ecologist an overarching goal of my research is to answer questions about energy flow and biogeochemical cycling of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica), carbon, and oxygen in a variety of environments. Current research is centered on the transformations and the ultimate fate of nitrogen in the marine environment, the impact of climate change on benthic-pelagic coupling, silica cycling in salt marshes and estuaries, and greenhouse gas production in a variety of coastal environments.

Selected Publications

• Fulweiler, R.W. (2023). More Foxes than Hedgehogs: The Case for Nitrogen Fixation in Coastal Marine Sediments. Global Biogeochemical Cycles:1-8.
• Mazur, C.I. and Fulweiler, R.W., (2023). Coastal acidification alters estuarine sediment nitrous oxide and methane fluxes. Limnology and Oceanography Letters:723-733.
• Chua, E.J., Huettel, M., Fennel, K., Fulweiler, R.W. (2022). A Case for Addressing the Unresolved Role of Permeable Shelf Sediments in Ocean Denitrification. Limnology and Oceanography Letters 7:11-25.
• Mason, R.E., Craine, J.M., Lany, N.K., Mathieu, J., Ollinger, S.V., Groffman, P.M., Fulweiler, R.W., Angerer, J., Read, Q.D., Templer, P. H., Elmore, A. J. (2022). Evidence, causes, and consequences of declining nitrogen availability in terrestrial ecosystems. Science 376:6590.
• Ray, N.E. and Fulweiler, R.W. (2021). Meta-analysis of oyster impacts on coastal biogeochemistry. Nature Sustainability, 4:261-269.
• Fulweiler, R.W., Davies, S.W., Biddle, J.F., Burgin, A.J., Cooperdock, E.H., Hanley, T.C., Kenkel, C., Marcarelli, A.M., Matassa, C.M., Santiago-Vazquez, L.Z. and Traylor-Knowles, N. (2021). Rebuild the Academy: Supporting Academic Mothers during the COVID-19 and Beyond. PLoS Biology 19:1-11.
• Al‐Haj, A.N. and Fulweiler, R.W. (2020). A Synthesis of Methane Emissions from Shallow Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems. Global Change Biology 26:2988-3005.
• Duarte, C.M., Agusti, A., Barbier, E., Britten, G.L., Castilla, J.C., Gattuso, JP, Fulweiler, R.W., Hughes, T.P., Knowlton, N., Lovelock, Heike K. Lotze, H.K., Predragovic, M., Poloczanska, E., Roberts, C., & Worm, B. (2020). Rebuilding Marine Life. Nature 580:39-51.

Courses Taught:

• EE 144 Introduction to Oceanography
• EE/BI 423/623 Marine Biogeochemistry
• EE/BI 558 Coastal Biogeochemistry
• EE 834 Advanced Topics in (Bio)Geochemical Cycles