Professor of Environmental and Ocean Sciences

Jennifer C. Prairie, PhD, joined the USD faculty in 2014. Her research combines laboratory experiments and field work with mathematical modeling to study biological-physical interactions in marine ecosystems, particularly focusing on plankton. Current projects include studying marine snow formation in turbulence and zooplankton foraging in patchy environments. Prairie welcomes undergraduate involvement in her research.

Prairie’s research is interdisciplinary, focusing on how biological and physical factors interact in marine planktonic ecosystems. Some previous research projects include: studying small-scale phytoplankton distributions in the ocean using a novel free-falling imaging system and investigating the settling behavior of marine snow particles across sharp density gradients in the laboratory. In her current research, Prairie is studying marine snow formation in turbulence and is also examining zooplankton foraging in patchy prey environments. Prairie is looking for interested undergraduates to participate in her research at USD that will involve laboratory work, modeling and data analysis, and even the possibility of taking part in oceanographic research cruises.