Academic Degrees and Training

• Postdoctoral Research Associate, NCSU Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology (2003 – 2006)

• Ph.D. Plant Biology with minor in Biotechnology, North Carolina State University (2003)

• B.S. Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1992)

                                                  Research Interests

Single-celled eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus) include both photosynthetic algae and heterotrophic protozoa.  These microorganisms are important for a number of reasons.  They are ubiquitous, abundant, and play critical roles in local and global ecosystems as primary producers, microbial consumers, symbionts, and parasites.  Microscopic algae that swim or drift in marine and fresh waters are commonly known as phytoplankton.  Some can form dense populations (harmful algal blooms, or “red tides”) that discolor surface waters and cause considerable harm in aquatic ecosystems through production of toxic compounds, depletion of oxygen, or disruption of food webs.  Others can have substantial impacts on aquatic food webs and nutrient cycling as microbial predators feeding on bacteria, other protists, and larger organisms such as fish.

Our research focuses on the ecology, reproductive and nutritional physiology, and taxonomy of dinoflagellates and other algae, with emphasis on harmful species that cause fish kills or other negative impacts in coastal and freshwater environments.  We work with colleagues at UNC-Charlotte and other institutions in the U.S. and abroad to investigate harmful algae and protists in general using field studies, culture experiments, light and electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and molecular genetics.

Several of these and other projects would benefit from further student involvement.  If you are an undergraduate seeking research experience in the UNC-Charlotte Department of Biology or considering graduate work at UNCC, and are interested in environmental science or aquatic microbial biology, contact Dr. Matthew Parrow.

Current Lab Members

Ryan Fawcett, MS student

Richard Giles, PhD student

Ariel Hickey, Honor's undergraduate student

Jennifer Reiter, MS Student

Publications

• Burkholder JM, Hallegraeff GM, Melia G, Cohen A, Bowers HA, Oldach DW, Parrow MW, Sullivan MJ, Zimba PV, Allen EH, Kinder CA, Mallin MA (2007) Phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages in ballast water of U.S. military ships as a function of port of origin, voyage time, and ocean exchange practices. Harmful Algae 6:486-518

• Glibert PM, Burkholder JM, Parrow MW, Lewitus AJ, Gustafson DE (2006) Direct uptake of nitrogen and nitrogen nutritional preferences by Pfiesteria piscicida and Pfiesteria shumwayae. Harmful Algae 5:380-394

• Kremp A, Parrow MW (2006) Evidence for asexual resting cysts in the life cycle of the marine peridinoid dinoflagellate, Scrippsiella hangoei. Journal of Phycology 42:400-409

• Lewitus AJ, Wetz MS, Willis BM, Burkholder JM, Parrow MW, Glasgow HB (2006) Grazing activity of Pfiesteria piscicida (Dinophyceae) and susceptibility to ciliate predation vary with toxicity status. Harmful Algae 5:427-434

• Marshall HG, Hargraves PE, Burkholder JM, Parrow MW, Elbrächter M, Allen EH, Knowlton VM, Rublee PA, Hynes WL, Egerton TA, Remington DL, Wyatt KB, Coyne KJ, Lewitus AJ, Henrich VC (2006) Taxonomy of Pfiesteria (Dinophyceae). Harmful Algae 5:481-496

• Parrow MW, Elbrächter M, Krause MK, Burkholder JM, Deamer NJ, Htyte N, Allen EH (2006) The taxonomy and growth of a Crypthecodinium species (Dinophyceae) isolated from a brackish water fish aquarium. African Journal of Marine Science 28:185-191

• Skelton HM, Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2006) Phosphatase activity in the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria shumwayae. Harmful Algae 5:395-406

• Glibert PM, Seitzinger S, Heil CA, Burkholder JM, Parrow MW, Codispoti LA, Kelly V (2005) The role of eutrophication in the global proliferation of harmful algal blooms – new perspectives and new approaches. Oceanography 18:198-209

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM, Deamer NJ, Ramsdell JS (2005) Contaminant-free cultivation of Pfiesteria shumwayae (Dinophyceae) on a fish cell line. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 39:97-105

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2004) Observations on zygote development and postzygotic divisions in Pfiesteria piscicida and cryptoperidiniopsoids (Dinophyceae). Harmful Algae 3:239-240

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2004) The sexual life cycles of Pfiesteria piscicida and cryptoperidiniopsoids (Dinophyceae). Journal of Phycology 40:664-673

• Parrow MW, Deamer NJ, Alexander JL, Burkholder JM (2004) A cell cycle synchronization and culture purification technique for heterotrophic Pfiesteria and cryptoperidiniopsoid dinoflagellates analyzed by flow cytometry. Steidinger KA, Landsberg JH, Tomas CR, Vargo GA (Eds) Proceedings of the Xth International Conference on Harmful Algae. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, St. Petersburg, FL, USA, pp. 420-422

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2003) Reproduction and sexuality in Pfiesteria shumwayae (Dinophyceae). Journal of Phycology 39:697-711

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2003) Estuarine heterotrophic cryptoperidiniopsoids (Dinophyceae): life cycle and culture studies. Journal of Phycology 39:678-696

• Parrow M, Burkholder JM, Deamer NJ, Zhang C (2002) Vegetative and sexual reproduction in Pfiesteria spp. (Dinophyceae) cultured with algal prey, and inferences for their classification. Harmful Algae 1:5-33 

• Parrow MW, Burkholder JM (2002) Flow cytometric determination of zoospore DNA content and population DNA distribution in cultured Pfiesteria spp. (Pyrrhophyta). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 267:35-51

• Stoecker DK, Parrow MW, Burkholder JM, Glasgow HB (2002) Grazing by microzooplankton on Pfiesteria piscicida with different histories of toxicity. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 28:79-85 

• Parrow MW, Glasgow HB, Burkholder JM, Zhang C (2001) Comparative response to algal prey by Pfiesteria piscicida, Pfiesteria shumwayae, and an estuarine ‘lookalike’ species. Hallegraeff GM, Blackburn S, Bolch CJ, Lewis RJ (Eds) Harmful Algal Blooms 2000, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms. IOC UNESCO, Paris, pp. 101-104

• Burkholder JM, Glasgow HB, Deamer-Melia NJ, Springer J, Parrow MW, Zhang C, Cancellieri PJ (2001) Species of the toxic Pfiesteria complex and the importance of functional type in data interpretation. Environmental Health Perspectives 109:667-686

• Glasgow HB, Burkholder JM, Morton SL, Springer J, Parrow MW (2001) Fish-killing activity and nutrient stimulation of a second toxic Pfiesteria species. Hallegraeff GM, Blackburn S, Bolch CJ, Lewis RJ (Eds) Harmful Algal Blooms 2000, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms. IOC UNESCO, Paris, pp. 97-100

• Bralower TJ, Parrow MW (1996) Morphometrics of the Paleocene coccolith genera Cruciplacolithus, Chiasmolithus, and Sullivania: a complex evolutionary history. Paleobiology 22:352-385

• Bralower TJ, Parrow MW, Thomas E, Zachos JC (1995) Data report: stable isotopic stratigraphy of the Paleocene pelagic cap at Site 865, Allison Guyot. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results 143:581-586

• Bralower TJ, Zachos JC, Thomas E, Parrow MW, Paull CK, Kelly DC, Silva P, Sliter WV, Lohmann KC (1995) Late Paleocene to Eocene paleoceanography of the equatorial Pacific Ocean: stable isotopes recorded at Ocean Drilling Program Site 865, Allison Guyot. Paleoceanography 10:841-865