Mackenzie Gerringer, PhD
CURRENT POSITION
Assistant Professor of Biology
State University of New York at Geneseo
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Marine Biology
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
B.A. in Biology & German Studies
Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
EMPLOYMENT
2019–Present Assistant Professor of Biology. State University of New York at Geneseo. Physiology and ecology of deep-sea organisms.
2017–2019 Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington. Functional morphology and physiology of fishes.
2015–2017 NSF Graduate Research Fellow. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Deep-sea fish physiology and ecology, focus on hadal trenches.
2013–2014 Graduate Research Fellow. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Deep-sea fish physiology and ecology, focus on hadal trenches.
2012–2013 Fulbright Fellow. English Teaching Assistant. Oberschule an der Hermannsburg. Bremen, Germany.
PUBLICATIONS
Schwarzhans, W.W. & M.E. Gerringer (2023). Otoliths of the deepest-living fishes. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 198, 104079. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104079
Gerringer, M.E., Y. Ismail, K.A. Cannon, A. Camilo Hernández, F. Gonzales Peralta, R.M. Bohen, J.C. Cartwright, A. Feasley, L. Fregosi, H. Lehman, H. Niles, J. Quay, N. Sherpa, B.H. Woodworth, K. Cantwell (2023). Deep-sea biology in undergraduate classrooms: Open access data from remotely operated vehicles provide impactful research experiences. Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 1033274. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.1033274 Open Access
Martin, R.P., A. Dias, A.P. Summers, M.E. Gerringer (2022). Bone density variation in rattails (Macrouridae, Gadiformes): Buoyancy, depth, body size, and feeding. Integrative Organismal Biology. 4(1), obac044. doi: 10.1093/iob/obac044 Open Access
Linley, T.D., M.E. Gerringer, H. Ritchie, J.N.J. Weston, A. Scott-Murray, V. Fernandez, J.L.C. Hernández, F. Wenzhöfer, R.N. Glud, A.J. Jamieson (2022). Independent radiation of snailfishes into the hadal zone confirmed by Paraliparis selti sp. nov. (Perciformes: Liparidae) from the Atacama Trench, SE Pacific. Marine Biodiversity. 52:56. doi: 10.1007/s12526-022-01294-0 Open Access
Blanton, J.M., L.M. Peoples, M.E. Gerringer, C.M. Iacuaniello, N.D. Gallo, T.D. Linley, A.J. Jamieson, J.C. Drazen, D.H. Bartlett, E.E. Allen (2022). Microbiomes of hadal fishes across trench habitats contain similar taxa and known piezophiles. mSphere. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00032-22 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., T.D. Linley, J. Nielsen (2021). Revision of the depth record of bony fishes with notes on hadal snailfishes (Liparidae, Scorpaeniformes) and cusk eels (Ophidiidae, Ophidiiformes). Marine Biology. 168, 167. doi: 10.1007/s00227-021-03950-8 Link to View
Gerringer, M.E., A.S. Dias, A.A. von Hagel, J.W. Orr, A.P. Summers, S. Farina (2021) Habitat influences skeletal morphology and density in the snailfishes (family Liparidae). Frontiers in Zoology. 16(18). doi: 10.10.1186/s12983-021-00399-9 Open Access
Tokuda, A.K., J.C. Drazen, M.E. Gerringer, B.N. Popp, E. Grammatopoulou, D.J. Mayor (2020) Trophic interactions of megafauna in the Mariana and Kermadec trenches inferred from stable isotope analysis. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 164, 103360. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2020.103360 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., P.H. Yancey, O.V. Tikhonova, N.E. Vavvlov, V.G. Zgoda, D.R. Davydov (2020) Pressure tolerance of deep-sea enzymes can be evolved through increasing volume changes in protein transitions: a study with lactate dehydrogenases from abyssal and hadal fishes. The FEBS Journal. 287, 5394-5410. doi: 10.1111/febs.15317 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E. (2019) On the success of the hadal snailfishes. Integrative Organismal Biology. 1-18. doi: 10.1093/iob/obz004 Open Access
Mundy, B.C., M.E. Gerringer, J.G. Nielsen, P. Fryer, A. Leitner (2018) First in situ observation of an aphyonid fish (Teleostei, Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae). Deep-Sea Research Part II. 150, 164-169. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.09.009 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., A.H. Andrews, G.R. Huss, K. Nagashima, B.N. Popp, T.D. Linley, N.D. Gallo, M.R. Clark, A.J. Jamieson, J.C. Drazen (2018) Life history of abyssal and hadal fishes from otolith growth zones and oxygen isotopic compositions. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 132, 37-50. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.12.002 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., J.C. Drazen, T.D. Linley, A.P. Summers, A.J. Jamieson, P.H. Yancey (2017) Distribution, composition, and functions of gelatinous tissues in deep-sea fishes. Royal Society Open Science. 4, 171063. doi: 10.1098/rsos.171063 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., T.D. Linley, A.J. Jamieson, E. Goetze, J.C. Drazen (2017) Pseudoliparis swirei sp. nov.: A newly-discovered species of hadal snailfish (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the Mariana Trench. Zootaxa. 4358(1), 161-177. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4358.1.7 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., J.C. Drazen, P.H. Yancey (2017) Metabolic enzyme activities of abyssal and hadal fishes: pressure effects and a re-evaluation of depth-related changes. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 125, 135-146. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2017.05.010 Open Access
Gerringer, M.E., B.N. Popp, T.D. Linley, A.J. Jamieson, J.C. Drazen (2017) Comparative feeding ecology of abyssal and hadal fishes through stomach content and amino acid isotope analysis. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 121, 110-120. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2017.01.003 Open Access
Linley, T.D., A.L. Stewart, P.J. McMillan, M.R. Clark, M.E. Gerringer, J.C. Drazen, T. Fujii, A.J. Jamieson (2017) Bait attending fishes of the abyssal zone and hadal boundary: community structure, functional groups and species distribution in the Kermadec, New Hebrides and Mariana Trenches. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 121, 38-53. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.12.009 Available
Linley, T.D., M.E. Gerringer, P.H. Yancey, J.C. Drazen, C.L. Weinstock, A.J. Jamieson (2016) Fishes of the hadal zone including new species, in situ observations, and depth records of Liparidae. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 114, 99-110. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.05.003 Open Access
Mills, S., D. Leduc, J.C. Drazen, P.H. Yancey, A.J. Jamieson, M.R. Clark, A.A. Rowden, D.J. Mayor, S. Piertney, T. Heyl, D. Bartlett, J. Bourque, W. Cho, A. Demopoulos, P. Fryer, M.E. Gerringer, E. Grammatopoulou, S. Herrera, M. Ichino, B. Lecroq, T.D. Linley, K. Meyer, C. Nunnally, H. Ruhl, G. Wallace, C. Young, T.M. Shank (2016) 10,000 m under the sea: an overview of the HADES expedition to the Kermadec Trench. In B. Golder and A. Connell (Eds.) Proceedings of Kermadec Discoveries and Connections (pp 36–38). The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Kelley, C., S. France, F. Parrish, D. Wagner, M.E. Gerringer, M. Garcia (2016) CAPSTONE’s First Year – 2015 Hohonu Moana: Exploring Deep Waters off Hawaii. Oceanography. 29(1),68-74. doi: 10.5670/oceanog.2016.supplement.01 Open Access
Drazen, J.C., J.R. Friedman, N.E. Condon, E.J. Aus, M.E. Gerringer, A.A. Keller, M.E. Clarke (2015) Enzyme activities of demersal fishes from the shelf to the abyssal plain. Deep-Sea Research Part I. 100, 117-126. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2015.02.013 Available
Yancey, P.H., M.E. Gerringer, J.C. Drazen, A.A. Rowden, A.J. Jamieson (2014) Marine fish may be biochemically constrained from inhabiting deepest ocean depths. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111(12), 4461-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1322003111 Open Access
RESEARCH CRUISES (>180 days total)
2018 RV Sonne, SO261, Peru-Chile Trench, Chile–Ecuador. HADES-ERC.
2017 RV Shinyo-maru, SY1615, Mariana Trench, Japan–Palau.
2016 RV Ka’imikai-o-Kanaloa, Hawaii. Dive, Pisces IV, 500 m. HUMMA Project.
2015 RV Okeanos Explorer, EX1504L4, Johnston Atoll, Hawaii.
2014 RV Falkor, FK141109, Mariana Trench, Guam, HADES.
2014 RV Thomas G. Thompson, TN309, Kermadec Trench, New Zealand–Samoa, HADES.
2013 RV Kaharoa, KAH1310, New Hebrides Trench, New Caledonia–New Zealand, HADEEP.
2011 RV Kaharoa, KAH1109, Kermadec Trench, New Zealand, HADEEP.
AWARDS & HONORS
Patricia & Jerry Smith Endowed Faculty Incentive Award for Research
SUNY Geneseo, 2020
National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellowship
Honorable Mention, 2014
Awarded, 2015
Fulbright Fellowship
Bremen, Germany, 2013
Edith Blackman Merril Davis Award for Four Years of Service to the Theater
Harper Joy Theater, Walla Walla, WA, 2012
Laurie Pitts Award for Outstanding Stage Manager
Harper Joy Theater, Walla Walla, WA, 2011
J. Stanley Brode Memorial Biological Life Study Award
Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, 2011
Alexander J. Anderson Scholarship
Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, 2008
TEACHING
2022 Instructor of Record. Marine Biology & Lab, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2022 Instructor of Record. Communicating Science, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2022 Instructor of Record. General Biology II, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2022 Instructor of Record. Animal Physiology & Lab, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2021 Instructor of Record. Marine Biology & Lab, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2021 Instructor of Record. Communicating Science, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. In Person
2021 Instructor of Record. Animal Physiology Lecture & Lab, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. Online.
2020 Instructor of Record. Marine Biology & Lab, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. Online
2020 Instructor of Record. Communicating Science, Biology Department, SUNY Geneseo. Online
2020 Instructor of Record. Animal Physiology & Lab, Biology Department. SUNY Geneseo. In Person & Online
2019 Instructor of Record. Marine Biology, Biology Department. SUNY Geneseo.
2019 Instructor of Record. Science Communication, Biology Department. SUNY Geneseo.
2019 Instructor of Record. Integrative Oceans, Oceanography. Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington.
2017 Instructor of Record. Integrative Oceans, Oceanography. Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington.
2017 Instructor of Record. Seminars in Marine Science. Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington.
2016 Lab Instructor, Lecture Assistant. Introductory Oceanography: The Science of the Sea. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
2012–2013 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Oberschule an der Hermannsburg. Bremen, Germany.
2011 Teaching Assistant. Marine Biology Lab. Whitman College.
2010 Teaching Assistant. Civics. Lincoln High School, Walla Walla, WA.
PRESENTATIONS & POSTERS
2022 Deep-sea biology in an undergraduate classroom: Biodiversity of cold-water coral ecosystems and substrate complexity. Gerringer, Camilo Hernandez, Cannon, Gonzales, Ismail. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Phoenix, AZ.
2022 Comparison of metabolic activity between deep-sea and shallow-water fishes through swimming kinematic analysis. Woodworth, Palmeri, Flannery, Fregosi, Donatelli, Geringer. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Phoenix, AZ.
2022 Feeding morphology of deep-sea demersal fishes. Bohen, Oleyourryk, Gerringer. Poster. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Phoenix, AZ.
2021 Habitat influences skeletal morphology and density in the snailfishes (Family Liparidae). Gerringer, Dias, von Hagel, Orr, Summers, Farina. Deep-Sea Biology Symposium. Hybrid Virtual Meeting & Brest, France.
2021 Pressure adaptation in the deep oceans: insights from the enzymes of hadal fishes. Gerringer. Biology Under Extreme Conditions: 2030 and Beyond, Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Virtual Meeting.
2021 Responding to COVID-19: How public liberal arts helps students engage. HEDs Up Session. Smith, Gerringer. Association of American Colleges & Universities. Virtual Meeting.
2021 Classification of unknown deep-sea snailfishes through morphological and genetic evidence. Woodworth, Palmeri, Fregosi, Suplicz, Gerringer. Poster. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Virtual Meeting. Session Chair.
2020 Evolving pressure tolerance in enzymes of abyssal and hadal fishes. Gerringer, Yancey, Tikhonova, Vavvlov, Zgoda, Davydov. Poster. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Austin, TX.
2020 Hadal bait-attending fishes of the Atacama Trench (Western South America) including new snailfish (Liparidae) species. Linley, Gerringer, Scott-Murray, Weston, Ritchie, Jamieson. Poster. Ocean Sciences Meeting. San Diego, CA.
2019 Evolution of bone density in deep-sea snailfishes. Dias, Von Hagel, Summers, Gerringer, Farina. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Tampa, FL.
2019 Variations in bone density within deep-sea grenadier (Macrouridae). Martin, Dias, Summers, Gerringer. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Tampa, FL.
2018 On the success of the hadal snailfishes. Gerringer. Invited Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. La Jolla, CA.
2018 Life in the trenches: the biology of the planet’s deepest-living fishes. Gerringer. Invited Seminar, Western Washington University. Bellingham, WA.
2018 Life history of abyssal and hadal fishes from otolith analyses. Gerringer, Andrews, Huss, Nagashima, Popp, Gallo, Clark, Linley, Jamieson, Drazen. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Conference. San Francisco, CA.
2017 Life in the trenches: the biology of the planet’s deepest-living fishes. Gerringer. Invited Seminar, Whitman College. Walla Walla, WA.
2017 Life in the trenches: the biology of the planet’s deepest-living fishes. Gerringer. Invited Seminar, Friday Harbor Laboratories. Friday Harbor, WA.
2017 Life history of abyssal and hadal fishes from otolith growth zones and oxygen isotopes. Gerringer, Andrews, Huss, Nagashima, Popp, Gallo, Clark, Linley, Jamieson, Drazen. Goldschmidt Conference. Paris, France.
2017 On the success of the hadal snailfish: The influence of trophic ecology, life history, and pressure adaptation on depth zonation in the planet’s deepest-living fishes. Seminar: PhD Defense. Honolulu, HI.
2016 Feeding ecology of abyssal and hadal fishes. Gerringer, Linley, Popp, Jamieson, Drazen. Conference of Biological Oceanography Graduate Students and Tester Symposium. Honolulu, HI.
2015 Trends in metabolic enzyme activities and pressure-related changes in maximum reaction rate of lactate dehydrogenase in abyssal and hadal fishes. Gerringer, Davydov, Yancey, Drazen. Deep-Sea Biology Symposium. Aveiro, Portugal.
2015 Trends in metabolic enzyme activities and pressure-related changes in maximum reaction rate of lactate dehydrogenase in abyssal and hadal fishes. Gerringer, Davydov, Yancey, Drazen. Conference of Biological Oceanography Graduate Students. Honolulu, HI.
2015 Gelatinous tissue in deep-sea fishes: Insights from a robotic snailfish. Gerringer, Yancey, Linley, Jamieson, Summers. Tester Symposium. Honolulu, HI.
2015 Life in the trenches: Diversity and discovery in the hadal zone. Gerringer, Yancey. Invited Seminar: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA.
2015 Gelatinous tissue in the hadal snailfish: Proximate chemical composition and implications for swimming performance. Gerringer, Yancey, Linley, Jamieson, Summers. Seminar: Friday Harbor Labs and Poster: Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. West Palm Beach, FL.
2013 High contents of methylamines and scyllo-inositol as potential piezolytes (pressure counteractants) in muscles of amphipods from the Mariana Trench. Yancey, Gerringer, Cameron, Hardy, Chastain, Bartlett. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. San Francisco, CA.
2012 High trimethylamine oxide contents in hadal snailfish (Liparidae) indicate a depth limit for teleost fishes. Gerringer, Yancey, Drazen, Rowden, Jamieson. Deep-Sea Biology Symposium. Wellington, New Zealand.
2012 Whitman Undergraduate Conference. The HADES Project: Fish from 25,000 Feet and Future Deep-Sea Research, 2012. The Edelweiss Pirates, 2012.
2012 Proximate chemistry of buoyant gel tissues in benthopelagic and benthic deep-sea fishes. Gerringer, Friedman, Drazen, Yancey. Whitman College. Poster: Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Charleston, South Carolina.
2009 Characterization of aging and bioavailability of organic pollutants in sediments using the bacteria contact assay with Arthrobacter globiformis. Gerringer, Adamzyk, Zielke, Hollert. Institute for Environmental Research (Biology V), RWTH-Aachen University, Germany. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and Murdock Undergraduate Sciences Conference. Aachen, Germany and Spokane, Washington.
2009 Der miniaturisierte Bakterienkontakttest mit Arthrobacter globiformis. Adamzyk, Gerringer, Zielke, Spira, Feiler, Seiler, Ahlf, Hollert. Poster: Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry – Europe, German Language Branch. Munich, Germany.
SELECTED OUTREACH
2022 Seeking an abundance of abyssal life
Guest Blog, National Deep Submergence Facility
2022 Back Ashore: Mariana Trench Explorers
Schmidt Ocean Institute. Public Talk on the Mariana Trench and Hadal Science. >350 viewers.
2019-2021 Skype a Scientist
2018 Friday Harbor Labs Open House
2018 Article on the discovery of the Mariana snailfish for The Conversation
2017 Lightning Talks. Invited talk: Life in the Trenches. Seattle Aquarium.
2017 Heirs to Our Oceans, middle-school conservation group, lab tour and discussion-leading, Friday Harbor Labs.
2017 NHK: Deep Ocean, Scientific consultation and interviews in documentary about hadal trenches, broadcast on national television in Japan.
2017 Laboratory tours to visiting high school and middle school students. Friday Harbor Labs.
2017 Expanding Your Horizons. Journey to the Deep. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
2016 Waikiki Aquarium Family Night. Deep-sea collection demonstration and Q&A.
2016 Expanding Your Horizons. Journey to the Deep. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
2015 Onboard Scientist. Okeanos Explorer. Narrated telepresence-enabled ROV dives to global audience.
2015 Hook the Deep: The Hadal Zone in Fiber. Collaborative art installation and public seminar. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Commons Gallery.
2014 Waikiki Aquarium Family Night. Deep-sea collection demonstration and Q&A.
2014 Life in the Trenches. Gerringer, Wallace, Yancey. Whitman Magazine.
2013 Waikiki Aquarium Family Night. Deep-sea collection demonstration and Q&A.
SELECTED MEDIA
2022 Ocean Exploration Education Mini-Grant supports SUNY Geneseo undergraduate research utilizing NOAA Ocean Exploration video footage.
2022 SUNY Geneseo students dive into the deep sea with NOAA Ocean Exploration
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
2021 Anglerfish are stranger than science fiction
2020 Discoveries in the Deep
2019 Environmental Stewardship and Friday Harbor Labs
2018 Snailfish robot and gelatinous tissues:
2017 Description of Pseudoliparis swirei, the Mariana Snailfish:
2015 Gelatinous tissues in deep-sea fishes:
2014 Deepest Fish Found:
2014 Trench Exploration: