Association of Southeastern Biologists

Shea R. Tuberty
Assistant Professor
B.A. Vanderbilt University
M.S. & Ph.D., Tulane University
Postdoctoral, University of West Florida/US EPA

For more information, please see My Webpage.

My research interests are rooted in invertebrate zoology and physiology, but in practice are best described by the interdisciplinary science of ecophysiology. I utilize biochemical, immunological, physiological, and molecular techniques integral to elucidating mechanisms of hormone control of reproduction and development or the effects of insecticides acting as environmental hormone disruptors.
I focus on aquatic and marine invertebrates because of the lack of data concerning their basic physiological and ecological biology. The reproductive physiology and endocrinology of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, is particularly interesting due to its international importance in aquaculture and its important position in ecological food webs and nutrient cycling. I have developed monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies for use in enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry to answer key questions about these species' mode of egg production, especially concerning the production and source of vitellin, the major yolk protein. I have also produced antibodies to a diverse group of estuarine crustaceans (Americamysis bahia, Palaemonetes pugio, Rhithropanopeus harrisii) that are important models for environmental toxicology. Of particular interest are the effects of heavy metals and insecticides on crustacean reproduction and development. My collaborators and I have developed several sensitive biomarkers of aquatic and estuarine crustacean endocrine disruption that result from exposure to a class of insecticides acting as insect juvenile hormone agonists (JHAs). By quantifying changes in vitellin and the ecdysteroid molting hormones, documenting altered lipid class compositions, brood size, and timing of larval stage development, we are able to show adverse effects of JHAs at the individual level. These new assays are some of the first developed to have direct bearing on the health and sustainability of crustacean populations exposed to this new class of insecticides.
My students' projects require a great diversity of scientific fields to accomplish their goals. They collect field samples, dissect tissues and cells, use histological staining procedures, mini-gel electrophoresis, gel chromatography, ELISA, Western blotting, and several protein separation, quantification, and concentration techniques. Furthermore, the students will also become adept in the use of several modern computer programs necessary for data reduction, statistical analysis, and presentation at regional and national meetings.

Selected Publications Reddy, P. S., Tuberty, S. R., and Fingerman, M. (1997) Effects of cadmium and mercury on ovarian maturation in the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 37:62-65. Tuberty, S. R. and Fingerman, M. (2002) Vitellogenesis and its endocrine control in decapod crustaceans. Trends in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Tuberty, Shea R., Sergio F. Nates, and Charles L. McKenney, Jr. (to appear) Polyclonal antisera against estuarine crustacean vitellins: A molecular approach to reproductive endocrinology and toxicology. In Modern Approaches to the Study of Crustacea. Elva Escobar-Briones, Ed., Proceedings of the 2000 Summer meeting of the Crustacean Society, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Tuberty, S.R., McKenney, Jr.,C.L., Zhong, H., Hoglund, M. & Nates, S.F. (in review) Effects of the insect juvenile hormone agonist, methoprene, on female growth and reproduction in the Gulf sand fiddler crab, Uca panacea (Novak and Salmon, 1974) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura). Submitted to Marine Environmental Research. McKenney, Jr., Charles L., Cripe, Geraldine M., Tuberty, Shea R., Foss, Steven S., and Hoglund, Marilynn. (in review) Comparative embryonic and larval developmental responses of an estuarine shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) to the juvenile hormone agonist, Fenoxycarb. Submitted to Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Nates, S.F., Leblond, J.D., McKenney, Jr., C.L., Tuberty, S.R., and Felder, D.L. (in review) Biochemical composition in hepatopancreas and ovaries of two ghost shrimps, Lepidophthalmus louisianensis and Lepidophthalmus bocourti (Decapoda: Thalassinidea), as indicators of food sources. Submitted to Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology.