Department of Biology

Education:

• B.A. Vanderbilt University
• M.S. & Ph.D., Tulane University
• Postdoctoral, University of West Florida/US EPA

Dr. Tuberty teaches Invertebrate Zoology, Ecotoxicology, Fauna of Australasia, Careers in Biological Sciences, Belize Reef and Rainforest Ecology, and the freshman Biological Concepts II courses at ASU. The Tuberty Lab (including high school, undergraduate, & M.S. students) is focused on a great variety of interests related to southeastern ecotoxicology, ecophysiology and aquatic ecology issues. At the root of our efforts is a passion for sustainable management of water resources. In recent years we have worked on the endocrine disrupting effects of sewage effluents on fish, industrial chicken litter soil amendment practices on soil and water quality, and impacts of coal ash spills on water quality and aquatic community assemblages or rates of toxic metal bioaccumulation. We often assess the impacts of local toxin spills (NaOH, coal tar asphalt resealants, coal ash) or remediation projects and the recovery of the streams thereafter and are very involved in the CSETAC regional conference events.

The Tuberty Lab is a member of the AppAqua (Appalachian Aquatic Sciences) interdisciplinary research cluster working to understand the local ecology and impacts of land use change on water resources of the Upper South Fork New River as well as human impacts on other Southern Appalachian headwater streams that form the Catawba, Linville, New, N. Toe, Watauga and Yadkin Rivers which begin in the North Carolina High Country.

The Lab also collaborates with faculty and students from Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment to develop techniques to remove/degrade toxins from point sources and improve water quality. Members of our lab are dedicated to civic engagement through outreach to local schools, non-profits, and private citizens to educate and provide expertise and resources for water quality assessment. Dr. Tuberty has recently joined Environmental Stewards Consulting, Inc., a non-profit that serves as technical advisor to communities impacted by hazardous waste sites, as a board member and treasurer. Recently, our lab has focused on the impacts of road salts and sewage effluents on S. Appalachian headwater streams.We are finishing efforts on the east TN tailwaters of the South Holston River to better understand the invasive Didymo diatom (aka rock snot) and its impacts on the aquatic community there – an important Blue Ribbon Flyfishingdestination.

Dr. Tuberty is committed to promoting the ASU Strategic plan which among other things focuses on the sustainability efforts across campus as well as building resilient communities.

Outside of playing in streams, Dr. Tuberty enjoys flyfishing, brewing craft beer (he helped start the brewing program in the Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences program), soccer, and spending time with his two daughters and most excellent and patient wife, Bridget.

Publications:

Bobbie Jo Swinson, Kristan Cockerill, Jeffrey D. Colby, Shea Tuberty, and Chuanhui Gu (2015).To Restore or Not to Restore: Assessing Pre-project Conditions of a Habitat Restoration Project on the New River, North Carolina. Environmental Processes. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40710-015-0111-5

Houser, J.B., Venable, M.E. Sakamachi, Y., Hambourger, M.S., Herrin, J. and Tuberty, S.R. (2014) Wastewater Remediation Using Algae Grown on a Substrate for Biomass and Biofuel Production. Journal of Environmental Protection, 5(10):895-904.

Babyak, C.M.; Tuberty, S.R.; Carter, B.D.; Gibbs, A.; Routhier, D.; Woodruff, C.; George, A.; Lisenby, D. ( 2010) Sequential Extraction of River Sediments Impacted by a Recent Coal Fly Ash Slide. Spectroscopy Letters 43(7-8):567-579.

Martín-Díaz, M.L., Tuberty, S. R. , McKenney, C. L., Jr. , Sales, D. and DelValls, T.A. (2006) The use of bioaccumulation, biomarkers and histopathology diseases in Procambarus clarkii to establish bioavailability of Cd and Zn after a mining spill. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 116:169-184.

Tuberty, S.R. and McKenney, C.L., Jr. (2005) Ecdysone responses of two estuarine crustaceans exposed through complete larval development to juvenile hormone agonist insecticides. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45(1):106-117.

Martín-Díaz, M.L., Tuberty, S. R. , McKenney, C. L., Jr. , Sales, D. and DelValls, T.A. (2005) Effects of cadmium and zinc on Procambarus clarkii: simulation of the Aznalcollar mining spill. Ciencias Marinas, 31(1B):197-202.

McKenney, Jr., Charles L., Cripe, Geraldine M., Foss, Steven S., Tuberty, Shea R., and Hoglund, Marilynn. (2004) Comparative embryonic and larval developmental responses of an estuarine shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) to the juvenile hormone agonist, Fenoxycarb. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 47(4):463-470.

Tuberty, Shea R., Sergio F. Nates, and Charles L. McKenney, Jr. (2002) 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 and Fernando Alvarez. Eds., Proceedings of the The Crustacean Society 2000 Summer Meeting, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, p.29-37.

Tuberty, Shea. R. and Fingerman, Milton. (2001) Vitellogenesis and its endocrine control in decapod crustaceans. Trends in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 8:105-115.

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.