Dr. Havalend E. Steinmuller

Assistant Professor

Marine Sciences

Bio

Dr. Havalend E. Steinmuller is a Senior Marine Scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and an Assistant Professor at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Steinmuller came to Alabama from Florida, where she was a postdoctoral scholar at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Lab. Dr. Steinmuller holds a BS (2013) and MS (2015) from Louisiana State University, and a PhD (2019) from the University of Central Florida. She is a coastal biogeochemist interested in how coastal systems, specifically intertidal oyster reefs, mangroves, and tidal marshes, respond to disturbance (sea-level rise, eutrophication, extreme events, etc.).

Education

2019 Ph.D. in Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida
2015 M.S. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University
2013 B.S. in Coastal Environmental Science, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University

Research

I seek to answer research questions related to how coastal ecosystem function is impacted by disturbance across multiple scales, ranging from microbially-mediated biogeochemical reactions to ecosystem-level responses. Specifically, my interests include:

Characterizing wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion,
Determining how vegetation change and mangrove encroachment alter biogeochemical processing of energy and nutrients,
Understanding hurricane impacts on biogeochemical cycles and surface elevation dynamics in coastal environments,
Determining how intertidal oyster reefs contribute to carbon and nutrient sequestration, and mediate eutrophication,
Defining the role of carbon quality and geomorphic setting in ‘blue carbon’ storage

Publications

Steinmuller, H.E., J. Garwood, E. Bourque, S.B. Lucas, K.M. Engelbert, J. L. Breithaupt. “Comparing vertical change in riverine, bayside, and barrier island wetland soils in response to
acute and chronic disturbance in Apalachicola Bay, FL”. Accepted in a special issue (Wetland Elevation Dynamics) of Estuaries and Coasts.
Breithaupt, JL., and HE. Steinmuller. "Refining the global estimate of mangrove carbon burial rates using sedimentary and geomorphic settings." Geophysical Research Letters (2022): e2022GL100177.
Steinmuller, H. E., J.L. Breithaupt, K. Engelbert, P. Assavapanuvat, T. S. Bianchi. “Coastal wetland soil organic carbon storage at mangrove range limits in Apalachicola Bay, FL: Observations and
expectations”. Accepted in a special issue (Mangroves in the Anthropocene) of Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.
Hurst, N.R., B. Locher, H.E. Steinmuller, L. J. Walters, and L.G, Chambers. “Carbon Dynamics and Microbial Community Response to Oyster Reef Restoration: Implications for Carbon Storage”.
Limnology and Oceanography (2022).
Steinmuller, H.E., S. L. Stoffella, R. Vidales, M.S. Ross, S. Dattamudi, and L.J. Scinto. “Characterizing hydrologic effects on soil physicochemical variations within coastal tree islands
and marshes in the Florida Everglades”. Soil Science Society of America Journal (2021).
Steinmuller, H.E., T.E. Foster, C.R. Hinkle, L.G. Chambers. “Herbaceous encroachment increases soil nutrient content and supports higher rates of biogeochemical processing in a coastal marsh”. Science of the Total Environment (2020).
Steinmuller, H.E., M.P. Hayes, N.R. Hurst, Y. Sapkota, R.L. Cook, J.R. White, X. Zuo, L.G. Chambers. “Does edge erosion alter coastal wetland soil properties? A multi-method biogeochemical study”.
Catena 187 (2020).
Steinmuller, H.E., T. E Foster, P. Boudreau, C.R. Hinkle, L.G. Chambers. “Tipping points in the mangrove march: Characterization of biogeochemical cycling along the mangrove – salt marsh ecotone”. Ecosystems (2020).

Breithaupt, J.L., N.R. Hurst, H.E. Steinmuller, E. Duga, J.M. Smoak, J. Kominoski, L.G. Chambers. “Comparing the biogeochemistry of storm surge sediments and pre-storm soils in coastal
wetlands: Hurricane Irma and the Florida Everglades”. Accepted within a special issue (Impact of 2017 Hurricanes on Estuaries and Coasts in the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast States) of Estuaries and Coasts (2019).
Steinmuller, H. E., and Lisa G. Chambers. "Characterization of coastal wetland soil organic matter: Implications for wetland submergence." Science of the Total Environment 677 (2019): 648-659.
Chambers, L.G., H.E. Steinmuller, J. Breithaupt. “Toward a mechanistic understanding of peat collapse and its contribution to coastal wetland loss”. Ecology (2019) 100 (7):e02720.
Steinmuller, H.E., K. Dittmer, J.R. White, L.G. Chambers. “Understanding the fate of soil organic matter in submerging coastal wetland soils: a microcosm approach.” Geoderma 337 (2019): 1267-1277.
Steinmuller, H. E., and Lisa G. Chambers. "Can saltwater intrusion accelerate nutrient export from freshwater wetland soils? An experimental approach." Soil Science Society of America Journal
82.1 (2018): 283-292.
White, J.R., H.E. Steinmuller. "El ciclo del Nitrogeno en los humedales". Humedales de tratamiento: alternativa de tratamiento de aquas residuales aplicable en America Latina (2018). Steinmuller, Havalend E. 3
Dittmer, K. M., Steinmuller, H.E., Chambers, L.G. “Temperature effects on greenhouse gas production from treatment wetland soils along a nutrient gradient.” UCF Undergraduate
Research Journal 9 (2017).
Chambers, L.G., Gaspar, S.A., Pilato, C.J., Steinmuller, H.E., McCarthy, K.J., Sacks, P.E., Walters, L.J. “How well do restored intertidal oyster reefs support key biogeochemical properties in a coastal lagoon?" Estuaries and Coasts (2017).
Steinmuller, H.E., M.B. McKee, J.R. White, S. A. Graham, I.A. Mendelssohn. “A Decadal Scale Nutrient Loading Study in a Coastal Wetland: Impacts on Soil Microbial Processes”. Ecological
Engineering (2016). 97:58-63.