Sandra Gilchrist

Professor of Biology & Marine Science

Natural Sciences Division Chair

Contact

Phone Number

(941) 487-4598

Email Address

[email protected]

Location

Office

Ace Academic Center 324/Heiser 171

Mail

Heiser E172C

Department

Office or Division

Natural Sciences Division

Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center

Area of Concentration

Biology

Marine Biology

Environmental Studies

Co-Founder and former Director Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center

Ph.D., Florida State University
M.S., Old Dominion University
B.S., Florida State University

Ace Office Phone: 941-487-4597

Professor Gilchrist has broad research interests in population biology of invertebrates. She has focused her work on crabs and their interactions with other organisms, concentrating research questions about resource use.  Most recently, she has worked on questions about interactions between octopuses and hermit crabs in reef and seagrass environments.  She also works with terrestrial invertebrates such as mangrove tree crabs and land hermit crabs.  Her program in Honduras allows students to experience research abroad on a variety of organisms and systems.  She has worked with her students on genetics of coral diseases and of wound healing in marine invertebrates.

She teaches a variety of courses including invertebrate zoology, mangrove ecology, and oceanography. Her broad training in biology and oceanography allows her to support tutorials and internships from feeding behavior of octopuses to work aboard open water research vessels. She and her students present their work regularly at professional conferences.
Biology professor Sandra Gilchrist was a part of a NOAA grant that brought enhancements to the marine center and helped support the beginnings of community outreach in marine studies.  She received grants from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program for K-12 teacher workshops and a summer science program for underprivileged middle school students to learn about the marine environment.  She also spearheaded a gift from the AT&T Foundation to expand the College’s marine science program for elementary and middle school children from low-income families.

Recent Courses

Genetics Laboratory
Classical Genetics Techniques Lab (Mod 1)
Fundamentals of Applied Genetics (Mod 2)

Selected Publications

Beno, C., & Gilchrist, S. L. (2004). Contributions to the carbonate budget of reef building corals: Dissolved organic matter and CO2. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44(6), 676.

Gilchrist, S. L. (2000). Resetting the system: Dynamics of Hermit crab shell cycling after Hurricane Mitch. American Zoologist, 40(6), 1028.

Gilchrist, S. L. (2001). A Seven year study of shell distribution and use by Coenobita Clypeatus on Bailey’s Cay, Roatan, Honduras. American Zoologist, 41(6), 1454.

Gilchrist, S. L. (2002). Hermit crab population ecology on a shallow coral reef (Bailey’s Cay, Roatan, Honduras): Octopus predation and Hermit crab shell use. Memoirs of the Victoria Museum, 60(1).

Gilchrist, S. L. (2004). Contributions to the Carbonate budget of reef building corals: Dissolved organic matter and CO2. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44(6), 676.

Gilchrist, S. L. (2005). Hermit crab distributions in the backreef of Cayos Cochinos Grande (Bay Islands, Honduras). Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45(6), 1136.

Gilchrist, S. L., & Jourdan, M. C. (2003). Transects indicating living and dead coral species on two shallow coral reefs (Bailey’s Cay and Anthony’s Key, Roatan, Honduras). Integrative and Comparative Biology, 43(6), 819.

Gilchrist, S. L., Jourdan, M. C., & Sanchez, A. (2003). Impact of shell supply on population changes of Coenobita Clypeatus on Bailey’s Cay, Roatan, Honduras. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 43(6), 863.

Gilchrist, S. L., & Nemchonok, E. (2004). Interactions between ants Atta Cephalotes, Brachymyrmex sp. and Dorymyrmex sp. and Hermit crabs Coenobita Clypeatus on Lithophytic and scrub plants of Bailey’s Cay, Roatan, Honduras. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44(6), 700.

Nemchonok, E., Beno, C. & Gilchrist, S. L. (2004). Marine lab outreach project: Combining formal and informal marine education. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44(6), 731.

Rhodes, S., Gilchrist, S. L., & Henderson, M. (2001). Role of Algal Refugia in Hermit crab populations of Bailey’s Cay Reef, Roatan, Honduras. American Zoologist, 41(6), 1566.