Publications

Please visit Google scholar and ResearchGate profiles for up-to-date publications.

Please email mpespeni@uvm.edu for PDFs or find them on ResearchGate.

Pespeni lab mentees are underlined with superscripts indicating career stage: postdoc(P), graduate student(G), undergraduate(U), research assistant(R).

Journal articles published or in press:

Ashlock, L.(G), Darwin, C.(U), Crooker, J.(U), deMayo, J., Dam, H., and Pespeni, M.H.. (2024) Developmental Temperature, More than Long-Term Evolution, Defines Thermal Tolerance in an Estuarine Copepod. In press at Ecology and Evolution.

Pespeni, M.H. and Lloyd, M.M.(P) (2023) Sea stars resist wasting through an active immune and collagen systems. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B, 290 (2002), 20230347.

McCracken, A.R., Christensen, B.M., Munteanu, D., Case, B.K.M., Lloyd, M.M.(P), Herbert, K.P. & Pespeni, M.H. (2023) Microbial dysbiosis precedes signs of Sea Star Wasting Disease in wild populations of Pycnopodia helianthoides. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1130912.

Petak, C.(G), Frati, L., Brennan, R.S.(P), & Pespeni, M.H. (2023) Whole genome sequencing reveals regulatory and low pleiotropy variants underlie local adaptation to environmental variability in purple sea urchins. The American Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1086/726013

Brennan, R.S.(P), James, A.D., Dam, H.G., Finiguerra, M., Baumann, H., Buffalo, V., and Pespeni, M.H. (2022) Experimental evolution reveals the synergistic genomic mechanisms of adaptation to ocean warming and acidification in a marine copepod. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119, 38.

Press: Popular article in The Scientist. Press release. Graphical abstract. Poster presented at PEQG22.

Brennan, R.S.(P), James, A.D., Dam, H.G., Finiguerra, M., Baumann, H. and Pespeni, M.H. (2022) Loss of transcriptional plasticity but sustained adaptive capacity after adaptation to global change conditions in a marine copepod. Nature Communications, 13, 1147. 

Press: UVM Today; Discover Magazine.

Shore, E.A.(G), Huber, K.(U), Garrett, A.D.(G), Pespeni, M.H. (2022) Four plastic additives reduce larval growth and survival in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus urchin larvae. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 175, 113385.

Dam, H.G., deMayo, J.A., Park, G., Norton, L., He, X., Finiguerra, M.B., Baumann, H., Brennan, R.S.(P), and Pespeni, M.H. (2021) Rapid, but limited, zooplankton adaptation to simultaneous warming and acidification. Nature Climate Change, 11, 780–786.

Shore, E.A.(G), deMayo, J.A., and Pespeni, M.H. (2021) Microplastics reduce net population growth and fecal pellet sinking rates for the marine copepod, Acartia tonsa. Environmental Pollution, 284, 117379. Press release.

Pespeni, M.H. and Moczek, A.P. (2021) Signals of selection beyond bottlenecks between exotic populations of the bull-headed dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. Evolution & Development, 23:2, 86-99.

Garrett, A.(G), Brennan, R.S.(P), Steinhart, A.(U), Pelletier, A.(U), Pespeni, M.H. (2020) Unique genomic and phenotypic responses to extreme and variable pH conditions in purple urchin larvae. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 60:2, 318-331.

Palumbi, S.R, Evans, T.G., Pespeni, M.H., Somero, G.N. (2019) Present and future adaptation of marine species assemblages: DNA-based insights into climate change from studies of physiology, genomics and evolution. Oceanography, 32(3), 82-93.

Brennan, R.(P), Garrett, A.(G), Huber, K.(U), Hargarten, H.(R), Pespeni, M.H. (2019) Rare genetic variation is important for survival in extreme low pH conditions. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/422261

Lloyd, M.M.(P) and Pespeni, M.H. (2018) Microbiome shifts with onset and progression of Sea Star Wasting Disease revealed through time course sampling. Scientific Reports.

Maynard, A., Bible, J.M., Pespeni, M.H., Sanford, E., and Evans, T.G. (2018) Transcriptomic responses to extreme low salinity among locally adapted populations of Olympia oyster. Molecular Ecology

Laruson, A.J., Coppard, S.E., Pespeni, M.H., and Reed, F.A. (2018) Gene expression across tissues, sex, and life stages in the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla. Marine Genomics

Pespeni, M.H., Ladner, J.T. and A. P. Moczek. (2017) Signals of selection in conditionally expressed genes in the diversification of three horned beetle species. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 30:9, 1644-1657.

Evans, T. G. *, Pespeni, M.H. *, G. E. Hofmann, S. R. Palumbi, E. Sanford. (2017) Transcriptomic responses to seawater acidification among sea urchin populations inhabiting a natural pH mosaic. Molecular Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/mec.14038. * Equal contribution.

Lloyd, M.M.(P), Makukhov, A.(G) and Pespeni, M.H. (2016) Loss of genetic diversity as a consequence of selection in response to high pCO2. Evolutionary Applications, 9:9, 1124-1132.

De Wit, P.*, Pespeni, M.H.*, & Palumbi, S. R. (2015) SNP genotyping and population genomics from expressed sequences–current advances and future possibilities. Molecular ecology, 24(10), 2310-2323.  * Equal contribution.

Evans, T. G., J. L. Padilla-Gamiño, M. W. Kelly, Pespeni, M.H., F. Chan, B. A. Menge, B. Gaylord, T. M. Hill, A. D. Russell, S. R. Palumbi, E. Sanford, G. E. Hofmann. (2015) Ocean acidification research in the ‘post-genomic’ era: roadmaps from the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B., 185:33-42.

Kijimoto, T., E.C. Snell-Rood, Pespeni, M.H., G. Rocha, K. Kafadar, A.P. Moczek. (2014) The nutritionally responsive transcriptome of the polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus and the importance of sexual dimorphism and body region. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B., 281:1797, 2014-2084.

Moczek, A. P., T. Kijimoto, E. Snell-Rood, G. Rocha, M. H. Pespeni, K. Kafadar. (2014) Evolutionary and ecological genomics of developmental plasticity: novel approaches and first insights from the study of horned beetles. In: Ecological Genomics; edited by C. Landry and N. Aubin-Horth. Springer Verlag, Berlin, 127-148.

Pespeni, M.H., F. Chan, B. A. Menge, S. R. Palumbi. (2013) Signs of adaptation to local pH conditions across an environmental mosaic in the California Current Ecosystem. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 53:5, 857-870.

Pespeni, M.H., E. Sanford, B. Gaylord, T. M. Hill, J. D. Hosfelt, H. Jaris, M. LaVigne, E. Lenz, A. D. Russell, M. K. Young, and S. R. Palumbi. (2013) Evolutionary change during experimental ocean acidification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110:17, 6937-6942.

[Press coverage by Nature, Scientific American, New Scientist, Mother Jones, Science News for Kids, and more.]

Pespeni, M.H. and S. R. Palumbi. (2013) Signals of selection in outlier loci in a widely dispersing species across an environmental mosaic. Molecular Ecology, 22:13, 3580-3597.

Pespeni, M.H., B. Barney and S. R. Palumbi. (2013) Differences in the regulation of growth and biomineralization genes revealed through long-term common-garden acclimation and experimental genomics in the purple sea urchin. Evolution, 67:7, 1901-1914.

Kijimoto, T.,* Pespeni, M.H.*, O. Beckers,* and A. P. Moczek. (2012) Beetle horns and horned beetles: emerging models in developmental evolution and ecology. WIREs Developmental Biology, 2:3, 405-418.  * Equal contribution.

De Wit, P.,* Pespeni, M.H.*, J. T. Ladner, D. J. Barshis, F. Seneca, H. Jaris, N. Overgaard Therkildsen, M. Morikawa, and S. R. Palumbi. (2012) The Simple Fool’s Guide to population genomics: Gene expression and SNP data analysis in the age of high-throughput sequencing. Molecular Ecology Resources, 12, 1058-1067.  * Equal contribution.

Pespeni, M.H., D. A. Garfield, M. K. Manier, and S. R. Palumbi. (2012) Genome-wide polymorphisms show unexpected targets of natural selection. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B., 279:1732, 1412-1420.

Pespeni, M.H., T. A. Oliver, M. K. Manier, and S. R. Palumbi. (2010) Restriction Site Tiling Analysis: accurate discovery and quantitative genotyping of genome-wide polymorphisms using nucleotide arrays. Genome Biology, 11:R44.

Woodson, C. B., D. I. Eerkes-Medrano, A. Flores-Morales, M.M. Foley, S.K. Henkel, M. Hessing-Lewis, D. Jacinto, L. Needles, M.T. Nishizaki, J. O’Leary, C.E. Ostrander, Pespeni, M.H., K.B. Schwager, J.A. Tyburczy, K.A. Weersing, A.R. Kirincich, J.A. Barth, M.A. McManus, L. Washburn. (2007) Local diurnal upwelling driven by sea breezes in northern Monterey Bay. Continental Shelf Research, 27:18, 2289-2302.

Pespeni, M.H., M. Hodnett, K. S. Abayasiriwardana, J. Roux, M. Howard, V. C. Broaddus and J.F. Pittet. (2007) Sensitization of mesothelioma cells to tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis–inducing ligand–induced apoptosis by heat stress via the inhibition of the 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1/Akt pathway. Cancer Research, 67, 2865-71.

Godzich, M., M. Hodnett, J. A. Frank, G. Su, Pespeni, M.H., A. Angel, M. B. Howard, M. A. Matthay and J. F. Pittet. (2006) Activation of the stress protein response prevents the development of pulmonary edema by inhibiting VEGF cell signaling in a model of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. The FASEB Journal, 20, 1519-1521.

Roux, J., H. Kawakatsu, B. Gartland, Pespeni, M.H., D. Sheppard, M.A. Matthay, C. Canessa, J.F. Pittet. (2005) Interleukin-1a decreases expression of the epithelial sodium channel alphaENaC in lung epithelial cells via a p38 MAP kinase-dependent signaling pathway. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280, 18579-89.

Pespeni, M.H., R.C. Mackersie, H. Lee, D. Morabito, M. Hodnett, M. Howard, and J.F. Pittet. (2005) Serum levels of Hsp60 measured early after injury correlate with the development of acute lung injury following severe trauma. Journal of Surgical Research, 126, 41-7.

Pespeni, M.H., M. Hodnett, and J.F. Pittet. (2005) In vivo stress preconditioning. Methods, 35, 158-64.

Pittet, J.F.,* H. Lee,* Pespeni, M.H.*, A. O’Mahony, J. Roux, and W.J. Welch. (2004) Stress-induced inhibition of the NF-kB signaling pathway results from the insolubilization of the IkK complex following its dissociation from Hsp90. Journal of Immunology, 174, 384-94.  * Equal contribution.

Lee, H.,* Pespeni, M.H.,* J. Roux, P.A. Dennery, M.A. Matthay, and J.F. Pittet. (2004) HO-1 induction restores c-AMP-dependent lung epithelial fluid transport following severe hemorrhage in rats. The FASEB Journal, 19, 287-9.  * Equal contribution.

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