Carly Kenkel

• NSF International Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology, The Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2015-2017
• Postdoctoral Research Scientist, The Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2014

Tenure Track Appointments

• Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern California, Fall 2017

Summary Statement of Research Interests

I’ve always been fascinated by phenotypic variation, or differences in the observable characteristics of organisms. I study how ecology, or organism-environment interactions, induce or select for different phenotypes and how these ecological interactions influence and are influenced by the evolutionary trajectories of populations and species.

I use a variety of tools to address these questions, ranging from field experiments to ecophysiology to genomic analyses. I also have a strong interest in “translational ecology”: turning scientific findings into tools for conservation management.

Please visit my lab’s website for more detailed information on ongoing projects.

Research Keywords

reef-building corals, evolution, ecology, genomics, physiology, symbiosis, local adaptation, biomarkers

Journal Article

• Dixon, G. B., Kenkel, C. D. (2019). Molecular convergence and positive selection associated with the evolution of symbiont transmission mode in stony corals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
• Kenkel, C. D., Bay, L. K. (2018). Exploring mechanisms that affect coral cooperation: symbiont transmission mode, cell density and community composition. PeerJ. Vol. 6, pp. e6047.
• Kenkel, C. D., Moya, A., Strahl, J., Humphrey, C., Bay, L. K. (2018). Functional genomic analysis of corals from natural CO2-seeps reveals core molecular responses involved in acclimatization to ocean acidification. Global Change Biology. Vol. 24 (1), pp. 158-171.
• Kenkel, C. D., Bay, L. K. (2017). Novel transcriptome resources for three scleractinian coral species from the Indo-Pacific. GigaScience. Vol. 6 (9), pp. gix074.
• Louis, Y. D., Bhagooli, R., Kenkel, C. D., Baker, A. C., Dyall, S. D. (2017). Gene expression biomarkers of heat stress in scleractinian corals: Promises and limitations. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology. Vol. 191, pp. 63-77.
• Kenkel, C. D., Matz, M. V. (2017). Gene expression plasticity as a mechanism of coral adaptation to a variable environment. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Vol. 1, pp. 0014.
• Kenkel, C. D., Almanza, A. T., Matz, M. V. (2015). Fine-scale environmental specialization of reef building corals might be limiting reef recovery in the Florida Keys. Ecology. Vol. 96, pp. 3197-3212. Link to Publication
• Kenkel, C. D., Setta, S. P., Matz, M. V. (2015). Heritable differences in fitness-related traits among populations of the mustard hill coral, Porites astreoides. Heredity. Vol. 115, pp. 509-516. Link to Publication
• Kenkel, C. D., Sheridan, C., Leal, M. C., Bhagooli, R., Castillo, K. D., McGinty, E., Goulet, T. L., Matz, M. V. (2014). Diagnostic gene expression biomarkers of coral thermal stress. Molecular Ecology Resources. Vol. 14, pp. 667-678. Link to Publication
• Kenkel, C. D., Goodbody-Gringley, G., Caillaud, D., Davies, S. W., Bartels, E., Matz, M. V. (2013). Evidence for a host role in thermotolerance divergence between populations of the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) from different reef environments. Molecular Ecology. Vol. 22, pp. 4335-4348. Link to Publication
• Kenkel, C. D., Traylor, M. R., Wiedenmann, J., Salih, A., Matz, M. V. (2011). Fluorescenc of coral larvae predicts their settlement response to crustose coralline algae and reflects stress. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Vol. 278, pp. 2691-2697. Link to Publication

• Fellow of the International Coral Reef Society, 2020
• Gabilan Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, 2017-2022
• Ocean Sciences, 2019-2021
• Early-Career Scientist Award, International Coral Reef Society, 2020-2021
• Research Fellowship, Thailand, 2007-2008

Professional Offices

• Council Member, International Coral Reef Society”, 2018-2021