2022 FELLOWS

Margaret Amsler

University of Alabama at Birmingham

For distinguished accomplishments and personal rejuvenation of the University of Alabama at Birmingham chapter of Sigma Xi and integral involvement in growth of membership.

Quote

"Sigma Xi nurtures the ‘Renaissance Woman’ in me, the thirst to know and understand the natural world. The wide range of topics appearing in each issue of the American Scientist answer that little internal calling. Though I am neither gifted or learned in much of the arts and sciences or engineering, I relish the exposure to the works and philosophic thought of Sigma Xi’s diverse membership in each issue of the publication.

As an officer of Sigma Xi UAB, I along with my fellow officers, strive to manifest the disciplinary diversity of the organization by hosting speakers for the chapter’s monthly lunch meeting and seminar who represent a variety science and engineering fields. Our events are open to all – members and non-members, UAB students to emeriti, and the general community. Similarly, the chapter encourages a multidisciplinary slate of officers and actively seeks out new faculty for office as a way to elevate the profile of an early career.

The best aspect of being involved with Sigma Xi UAB is being able to indirectly mentor the many student members not only through monthly seminars, but also by promoting the benefits of Sigma Xi membership and in particular the Grants in Aid of Research opportunity. Although Sigma Xi UAB has only been in existence since 1957, I take immense pride in our chapter knowing that many UAB students are among the 32,000 GIAR recipients since the award’s inception in 1922.

Finally, a brief anecdote about the GIAR. A very gifted UAB student and member of the two labs of which I manage received a GIAR. The award funds went to a side project that we worked on together in Antarctica resulting in a dissertation chapter and a highly regarded journal publication. That student is now a faculty member at an institution with a Sigma Xi chapter and she serves as an officer. In her role as Vice President, she invited me to give a seminar to her Sigma Xi chapter. This was a full-circle moment for me and personally, as well as professionally gratifying to have tangibly fostered maybe a Renaissance Woman, certainly a Spoudon Xynones.

Biography

Margaret “Maggie” O’Leary Amsler is a polar marine biologist. She made her first trek to Antarctica shortly after graduation from DePaul University (BS) as a member of her mentor’s team studying the physiology of the astronomically abundant Antarctic krill, a small shrimplike organism favored by whales and penguins. Maggie continued researching krill as a graduate student (MS) at University of North Carolina-Wilmington focusing on embryological development and physiology. As a Research Associate at University of California-Santa Barbara she would participate in another ten krill-focused expeditions. While most of the expeditions were in the austral summer and shore-based, three expeditions were ship-based during the dark of winter when sea ice covered the waters; that first winter cruise was the first ever U.S. winter science cruise along the Antarctic Peninsula. All three cruises would require diving beneath the ice to collect krill for study and Amsler was on the dive team for the last two cruises. Maggie acknowledges that, human ‘critters’ aside, krill is her favorite animal because of its delicate beauty and its ability to maintain an astounding biomass in such a harsh environment and under such heavy predation.

After a hiatus to pursue informal science education in museums, including Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, Maggie returned to polar research focusing on benthic ecology. She is currently a Researcher V at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where along with colleagues has investigated how chemical ecology shapes Antarctica’s lush subtidal macroalgal forests. In collaboration with natural products chemists the team has revealed that the many inter-organism relationships observed in subtidal Antarctic communities are governed by defensive chemicals produced by organisms. While these species-specific compounds serve various functions for the producer (e.g., protection from predation), medical collaborators have determined some are effective in treating human ailments (e.g., melanoma skin cancer). Maggie observed an unusual interaction between an especially well-defended red alga and an amphipod (another small shrimplike crustacean and common grazer on algae) that initiated a line of inquiry the team continues to unravel.

As a member of a multi-institutional research program, Amsler delved into Antarctica’s deep sea to document the distribution, abundance, and life history of a potentially invasive deep-sea king crab. Three ship-based expeditions involved towing a specialized camera array that generated 100s of thousands of seafloor images yielding fascinating ‘snapshots’ of abyssal life, including crabs. Additionally, on the final cruise Amsler and shipmates successfully trapped live crabs at 1500m depth – a depth defying feat. Several specimens were egg-bearing females indicating a stable, sustaining population on the seafloor. That work, coupled with her krill expertise, lead to a truly deep experience for Amsler: participation in one of the first scientific submersible explorations of Antarctica’s abyss resulting in a documentary aired by National Geographic. Through the thick plexiglass bubble of a submersible at 1000m she observed that king crabs in their natural habitat are indeed agile, crushing predators with the potential to alter shallow water communities if they range upwards should Antarctica’s waters warm to a crab-welcoming temperature.

Amsler has also participated in shallower seafloor surveys using SCUBA. Dives conducted along a portion of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (often where no human has dived before) provided insight to the diversity of communities vulnerable not only to crushing predators but to consequences of climate change. In December 2022 she returns to Antarctica with Team UAB
to continue studies on the impacts of predicted near-future ocean acidification. Previous work on this project indicated that some marine organisms in Antarctica will be future winners, some future losers if oceans continue to acidify. Particularly vulnerable are the remarkably abundant amphipods whose ability to molt and grow is impaired by ocean acidification. Yet, these crustaceans are vital to the ecosystem and without them there could be far-reaching consequences.

Amsler considers herself lucky to have been associated with the many research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs throughout much of her career. As a result, she has spent over eight years (32 expeditions) in Antarctica aboard NSF research vessels or at NSF research stations, during which she has logged over five hundred polar SCUBA dives and totaled 33 hours in a submersible (not NSF-related) surveying communities down to 1000m. In 2007 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names honored Maggie (and husband/co-polar researcher Chuck) for their contributions to antarctic science by designating a small land mass along the Western Antarctic Peninsula Amsler Island. In 2020 the Explorers Club recognized her intrepid scientific spirit and accomplishments including her in the inaugural cohort of Fifty People Changing the World.

When not ‘on the ice’ Amsler shares the joy of science and Antarctica with the scientific community and through various outreach activities. She has co-authored over fifty publications in referred journals and contributed countless blogs to the website UAB in Antarctica. In lectures to the general public and school groups she introduces her audiences to the icy southern continent and its frigid waters always stressing the importance of doing basic science to understand the planet and advance the human condition. She is an advocate of community science participation e.g., sending daily precipitation reports to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network, and occasional bird counts to the Cornell Bird Lab. She serves on the board of Alabama Audubon (President-Elect), the Phycological Society of America (Membership Director) and the National Science Foundation Scientific Diving Control Board. Amsler was nominated to Sigma Xi in 2005 and two years later elected Treasurer of the University of Alabama at Birmingham chapter, a position she continues to hold.

2022 FELLOWS

Margaret Amsler

Quote

Biography

About

Programs

Chapters

Meetings & Events

Members

News

Publications