Dr. Timothy A. Hovanec is the Chief Science Officer of Marineland. After studying limnology at Uppsala University in Sweden, Dr. Hovanec graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Biology.

Dr. Hovanec earned his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he investigated the phylogenetics of nitrifying bacteria in aquaria and Mono Lake, California. Dr. Hovanec was the first to demonstrate that bacteria of the phylum Nitrospira were the active nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in aquatic systems such as aquaria. His work on nitrifying bacteria has lead to the discovery of many new species of nitrifying bacteria in freshwater and saltwater systems and the granting of several U.S. and foreign patents, with additional patents pending. He has also conducted much research on topics such as ammonia excretion and toxicity in aquatic organisms, bio-filtration systems design, and fish feed formulations.

At Marineland, Dr. Hovanec is in charge of the biology, chemistry and microbial ecology laboratories that comprise Marineland Labs. He is also responsible for overseeing the quality control of such products as Instant Ocean® sea salt and BioSpira® nitrifying bacteria.

Dr. Hovanec has authored numerous scientific papers in aquatic microbial ecology, and in public aquaria and aquaculture fields, and he writes popular articles on tropical fish for several magazines (many of which can be found at www.marinelandlabs.com). He has been an invited speaker and contributing author at several domestic and international conferences. He is the editor of SeaScope® magazine and a member of many scientific organizations. His past positions include a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, university research assistant, biologist and manager at an intensive striped bass aquaculture facility and consultant on various aquaculture projects.

ABSTRACT

Marine Aquarium Microbiology

This talk will present results on a preliminary investigation into the microbial diversity of marine aquaria. Using modern molecular biology methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), DNA sequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) comparisons on the diversity of microbes in different ‘zones' of the aquarium are made. For instance: how does the diversity of the bulk water compare before and after passing through a protein skimmer, does the diversity change with depth in a sand bed, and what is in/on live rock? The question: Do nitrifying bacteria prefer one area of a marine aquaria compared to another will also be discussed.