CURRICULUM VITAE
Kelton Wells McMahon
Doctoral Candidate: MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological oceanography
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Department of Biology, MS 50
Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
Phone: (508) 289-3966; Fax: (508) 457-2089
Email: kmcmahon@whoi.edu and keltonm@mit.edu
Webpage: http://www.whoi.edu/people/kmcmahon
Education:
2005-Present Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02139
Ph.D candidate: MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography
Advisor: Dr. Simon Thorrold
2001-2005
Bates College Lewiston ME 04240
B.Sc: Biology, Graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors thesis in Biology
Advisors: Dr. William Ambrose Jr. (Biology) and Dr. Beverly Johnson (Geology)
Thesis: “The impact of a changing food supply on Arctic benthos: Digestibility of
ice algae and phytoplankton
Research Experience:
Research Assistant: “Impacts of Phragmites control on selected ecological functions within
tidelands of the Lieutenant River.” Summer research under Dr. RS Warren (Connecticut
College) and Dr. PE Fell (Connecticut College).
2002 Research Assistant: Establishing Sedimentation-Erosion Tables (SET) in New London
and Barn Island, CT in order to measure changes in marsh surface elevation in relation to
sea level rise. Summer Research under Dr. RS Warren in collaboration with Dr. D.
Cahoon (U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center).
2003 Research Assistant: Monitoring restoration conditions, following the Wildlife Division’s
Wetland Habitat and Mosquito Management (WHAMM) Program on Great Island and
Upper Island, Old Lyme, CT. Summer research with Dr. RS Warren (Connecticut College).
2003 Research Assistant: Salt marsh vegetation surveys and long term sedimentation analyses
using feldspar horizon markers at the Plum Island Long-term Ecological Research Site.
Summer Research under Dr. RS Warren (Connecticut College).
2003 Co-Investigator: “Diet and regional feeding habits of the common mummichog, Fundulus
heteroclitus, in a Maine salt marsh assessed using stable carbon and nitrogen and gut content
analyses.” Collaborators: Dr. WG Ambrose (Bates College), Dr. BJ Johnson (Bates
College)
2003 Co-Investigator: “Variation in bivalve growth in a Norwegian high-Arctic fjord:
Evidence for local- and large-scale climatic forcing.” Collaborators: Dr. WG Ambrose
(Bates College), Dr. ML Carroll (Akvaplan-niva, Norway), Dr. M Greenacre (Pompeu
Fabra University, Spain) and Dr. SR Thorrold (WHOI)
2002
Research Experience (cont.):
2004 Research Assistant: Stable isotope analyses on bulk organic, Cholesterol and
polyunsaturated fatty acids, on modern organisms in an Alaskan arctic lagoon to examine
food web structure. Research under Dr. BJ Johnson (Bates College)
2004 Research Assistant: “Digestibility of ice algae and phytoplankton: The potential impacts
of changing food supply to the arctic benthos” Aboard the R/V Jan Mayen, Collaborators:
Dr. WG Ambrose (Bates College), Dr. GR Lopez (SUNY Stony Brook), and Dr. ML
Carroll (Akvaplan-niva, Norway)
2004 Research Assistant: “Experimental tests of petroleum-associated components on benthos at
community, individual, and cellular levels.” Aboard the R/V Jan Mayen, Collaborators: Dr.
WG Ambrose (Bates College), Dr. ML Carroll (Akvaplan-niva, Norway) and GH Olsen
(Ph.D student, Akvaplan-niva, Norway)
2004 Undergraduate Thesis: “Impacts of a changing food supply on Arctic benthos:
Digestibility of ice algae and phytoplankton.” Collaborators: Dr. WG Ambrose (Bates
College), Dr. BJ Johnson (Bates College), Dr. GR Lopez (SUNY Stony Brook), Dr. ML
Carroll (Akvaplan-Niva, Norway), Dr. M-Y Sun (University of Georgia), Dr. LM Clough
(Eastern Carolina University)
2004 Co-investigator: Examining the changes in faunal distribution and abundance following
cessation of coal mining in Ny Alesund, Svalbard. Collaborator: Dr. WG Ambrose
(Bates College)
2005 Co-investigator: Establishing a large multi-trophic level food web with over 80 species
of flora and fauna from the coast of Kotzebue, Alaska. Collaborator: Dr. WG Ambrose
(Bates College)
2005 Co-investigator: Inter- and intra-annual stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of
amino acids isolated from the bivalve Serripes groenlandicus to examine fluctuations in
diet during the course of the bivalve’s life. Collaborators: Dr. WG Ambrose (Bates
College), Dr. BJ Johnson (Bates College)
Teaching Experience:
2003-2005
Teacher’s Assistant, Bates College: Organic Chemistry I and II, Biological
Principles, Ecology
2004-2005
Academic Tutor, Bates College: Organic Chemistry I and II, Calculus I and II,
Biological Principles, Ecology
2004-2005
Technical Writing Assistant, Bates College: Biological Principles, Ecology,
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Honors and Awards:
2001
Arthur Crafts Award, Bates College
2001-2005
Dean’s Honors List, Bates College: 8 consecutive semesters
2003
National Dean’s List
2005
Summa Cum Laude, Bates College
2005
Presidential Award, SUNY Stony Brook: (Offer Declined)
2006
National Chancellor’s List
Fellowships:
2004-2005
Howard Hughes Summer Fellowship, Bates College
2005-2006
Ocean Life Fellowship, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2006-present National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Research Grants:
2003 Bates Student Research Grant
2004 Hughes Student-Faculty Research Grant
2004 Hughes Travel Grant
2004 Bates Student Research Grant
2005 Hughes Travel Grant
Conference Presentations:
2004 McMahon KW, Ambrose WG, Johnson BJ. “Contributions of local food items to the diet
of Fundulus heteroclitus: Analysis of δ13C/δ15N and gut contents.” Presentation at: 33rd
Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. March 2004, Mobile, Alabama, USA
2005 McMahon KW, Ambrose WG, Johnson BJ, Sun M-Y, Lopez GR, Clough LM, Carroll
ML. “The impacts of a changing food supply on Arctic benthos: Digestibility of ice algae
and phytoplankton.” Presentation at: 34th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. April 2005,
Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Invited Talks:
2004 McMahon KW, Ambrose WG, Johnson BJ, Sun M-Y, Lopez GR, Clough LM, Carroll
ML. “The impact of a changing food supply on Arctic benthos: Digestibility of ice algae
and phytoplankton.” Dr. Alex Flecker’s Lab, Cornell University
2004
McMahon KW, Ambrose WG, Johnson BJ, Sun M-Y, Lopez GR, Clough LM, Carroll
ML. “Impacts of a changing food supply on Arctic benthos: Digestibility of ice algae and
phytoplankton.” Dr. Glenn Lopez’s Lab, SUNY Stony Brook University
Publications:
a) Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
McMahon KW, Johnson BJ, Ambrose WG. 2005. Diet and movement of the killifish, Fundulus
heteroclitus, in a Maine salt marsh assessed using gut contents and stable isotope
analyses. Estuaries 28(6):966-973
McMahon KW, Ambrose WG, Johnson BJ, Sun M-Y, Lopez GR, Clough LM, Carroll ML
(2006) Benthic community response to ice algae and phytoplankton in Ny Ålesund,
Svalbard. Marine Ecology Progress Series 310:1-14
Ambrose WG, Carroll ML, Greenacre M, Thorrold SR, McMahon KW. “Variation in bivalve
growth in a Norwegian high-Arctic fjord: Evidence for local- and large-scale climatic
forcing.” Global Change Biology In press
Publications (cont.):
b) Published Abstracts:
Carroll ML, Clough LM, Sun M-Y, Lopez GR, Ambrose WG, McMahon KW. “Response of
Arctic benthic communities to variable food supplies associated with climatic change: Ice
algae vs. phytoplankton.” Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Sciences. March
2005, Ventura, California, USA
Ambrose WG, Carroll ML, Greenacre M, McMahon KW, Thorrold SR. “Patterns of Variation
in Bivalve Growth in a Norwegian High-Arctic Fjord: Evidence for Local- and LargeScale Forcing.” Presentation at: 34th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. April 2005,
Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Carroll ML, Ambrose WG, Greenacre M, McMahon KW, Thorrold SR. “Patterns of Variation
in Bivalve Growth in a Norwegian High-Arctic Fjord: Evidence for Local- and LargeScale Forcing.” Presentation at: American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
(ASLO) Summer Meeting. June 2005, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Clough L, Ambrose W, Betournay S, Carroll M, Lopez G, Meltzer K, Sun M-Y, McMahon K,
Richardson M “The Digestibility of Ice Algae and Phytoplankton: Impacts on Arctic
Benthic Macrofauna.” Presentation at: Ocean Sciences Meeting. February 2006,
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Manuscript reviewer for: Estuaries
Society membership:Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Society, Phi Beta Kappa Society
Current as of June 2006