Holly Sweat

Holly Sweat is a marine community ecologist leading the Smithsonian Marine Station’s Benthic Ecology Laboratory and the Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory biodiversity portal. Her work focuses broadly on patterns and drivers of biogeography and biodiversity in coastal ecosystems and the potential for microscopic organisms to act as ecosystem engineers. One of the central efforts of her lab is long-term monitoring of infaunal invertebrates and associated environmental parameters to inform restoration in the Everglades watershed. Recently, her team has been incorporating eDNA into their traditional monitoring protocol as part of the NMNH Ocean DNA initiative.

• PhD Oceanography, Florida Institute of Technology
• MS Biological Oceanography, Florida Institute of Technology
• BS Marine Science, Eckerd College

Smithsonian Marine Station Benthic Ecology Lab

Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

Ocean DNA

Structure and succession in benthic marine ecosystems, Marine biofilm development, Zooplankton community dynamics, larval recruitment, propagule pressure, Interactions among benthic bacteria, diatoms and recruiting larvae, Transport of microbes and macrofauna on ship hulls

Ma, Xiao, Qin, Zhen, Johnson, Kevin B., Sweat, L. Holly, Dai, Sheng, Li, Gang, and Li, Chaolun. 2024. Transcriptomic responses to shifts in light and nitrogen in two congeneric diatom species. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15, 1437274. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1437274.

Busch, Sidney J., Craig, Casey A., Wayles, Jessy, Sailor-Tynes, Tess, Dark, Emily, Sweat, L. Holly, Fox, David W., Zhai, L., and Walters, Linda J. 2023. Contribution of stormwater outfalls to microplastic pollution in a subtropical estuary using data collected with the assistance of citizen scientists. Environments, 10, 181. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10100181.

Sweat, L. Holly, Busch, Sidney J., Craig, Casey A., Dark, Emily, Sailor-Tynes, Tess, Wayles, Jessy, Sacks, Paul E., and Walters, Linda J. 2023. Oyster reefs are reservoirs for potential pathogens in a highly disturbed subtropical estuary. Environments, 10, 205. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10120205.

Sweat, L. Holly, Alexander, Hunter, Phlips, Edward J., and Johnson, Kevin B. 2021. Mesozooplankton community dynamics and grazing potential across algal bloom cycles in a subtropical estuary. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 734270. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.734270.

Sweat, L. Holly, Stephens, Michelle, and Reed, Sherry A. 2021. Insights from 15 years of benthic infaunal monitoring in a coastal lagoon system. Florida Scientist, 84, 147-161. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27091241.

Sweat, L. Holly, Swain, Geoffrey W., Hunsucker, Kelli Z., and Johnson, Kevin B. 2017. Transported biofilms and their influence on subsequent macrofouling colonization. Biofouling, 33, 433-449. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2017.1320782.

Sweat, L. Holly, and Johnson, Kevin B. 2013. The effects of fine-scale substratum roughness on diatom community structure in estuarine biofilms. Biofouling, 29(8), 879-890. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2013.811492.