Pictured above: Monty Graham is the director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and a USF professor.
Courtesy of Florida Institute of Oceanography
By Brianna Madden
Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) and USF professor Monty Graham now shares his name with a new species of jellyfish and he could not feel more honored.
“It’s a good acknowledgement to the earlier parts of my career to know that I was impactful to the field, and it feels good being honored for that,” Graham said.
The new species name, Aurelia montyi, commemorates Graham’s dedication to research of the Gulf of Mexico jellyfish species throughout his career.
A former student of Graham’s discovered the new species when conducting research on different types of moon jellies. The research aimed to identify different species based on molecular level differences rather than assuming their relatedness due to obvious morphological (form or structure) traits.
“The rules of taxonomy say you can’t be on the paper and name the jellyfish yourself, so it is always an honorific thing that happens to somebody because it has to happen apart from them,” Graham said.
As an undergrad student, Graham intended to study microalgae, but a summer internship studying jellyfish behavior changed that.
“It’s not just jellyfish, it is how these very simple animals have been so successful and unusual in their behavior,” Graham said.
He said he believes these simple species are neglected when scientists study marine environments.
While Graham serves full-time as the director of FIO, he also taught integrated biology courses at USF for several years.
FIO is an organization that serves the 12 institutions that comprise the state university system and provide research vessels and access to the Keys Marine Lab. The USF Institute supplies research vessels, including the Hogarth, a fully functioning floating lab.
Currently, most of the institute’s efforts are focused on coral restoration.
“The Keys Marine lab has phenomenal facilities to support coral restoration, and we are working with our great partners to continue this research,” Graham said.
“We also have a number of non-profits as part of our consortium, and we are happy to support all of their efforts in public education as well,” Graham said.
The FIO works with many groups outside of the institution itself to monitor, respond, and educate others on red tide, ocean pollution and other major aspects of marine ecosystems.
Graham said the FIO has created a guidebook that outlines the organization’s strategic plan for the next five years. Specifics of the plan are under wraps for now, but Graham said he hopes to share details in the near future.
Brianna Madden is a marine biology freshman at USF St. Petersburg.
