Christopher Freeman

Visiting Assistant Professor

Address: RITA 201
E-mail: freemancj@cofc.edu
Personal Website: https://thatsasponge.com

Education

Ph.D. - University of Alabama at Birmingham

M.S. - Georgia Southern University

B.A. - Connecticut College

Research Interests

Coral reef ecology
Symbiosis
Sponge ecology

Courses Taught

BIOL 111: Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology

BIOL 221: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Biology

BIOL 221D: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Biology Discussion

BIOL 341: General Ecology

BIOL 406: Conservation Biology

Publications

2021. Lunt, J., C.J. Freeman, D.S. Janiak, K. Bayliss, M. Stephens, E. Galimany, and V.J. Paul. Soft-sediment communities of the northern Indian River Lagoon, Florida USA. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:719049. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.719049

2021. Mohanty, I., S.G. Moore, J.S. Biggs, C.J. Freeman, D.A. Gaul, N. Garg, and V. Agarwal. Stereochemical assignment and absolute abundance of nonproteinogenic amino acid homoarginine in marine sponges. ACS Omega 6: 33200-33205. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c05685

2021. Galimany, E., J. Lunt, C.J. Freeman, I. Segura-Garcia, M. Mossop, A. Domingos, J. Houk, and V.J. Paul. Bivalve feeding on the brown tide Aureoumbra lagunensis in a shallow coastal environment. Frontiers in Marine Science 8.714816. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.714816

2021. Fallon, B. and C.J. Freeman. Plastics in Porifera: The occurrence of potential microplastics in marine sponges and seawater from Bocas del Toro, Panama. Peer J 9:e11638. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11638

2021. Freeman, C.J., C.G. Easson, C.L. Fiore, and R.W. Thacker. Sponge-microbe interactions on coral reefs: Multiple evolutionary solutions to a complex environment. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:705053. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.705053

2021. Mohanty, I., S. Tapadar, S. Moore, J. Biggs, C.J. Freeman, D. Gaul, N. Garg, and V. Agarwal. Presence of bromotyrosine alkaloids in marine sponges is independent of metabolomic and microbiome architectures. mSystems 6: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.01387-20

2020. Galimany, E., J. Lunt, C.J. Freeman, J. Houk, T. Sauvage, L. Santos, J. Lunt, M. Kolmakova, M. Mossop, A. Domingos, E.J. Phlips, and V.J. Paul. Bivalve feeding responses to microalgal bloom species in the Indian River Lagoon: the potential for top-down control. Estuaries and Coasts

2020. Freeman, C.J., C.G. Easson, K.M. Matterson, R.W. Thacker, D.M. Baker, and V.J. Paul. Ecological diversification in Caribbean sponges: a new perspective on an ancient association. ISME J

2019. Cantrell, T.P., C.J. Freeman, V.J. Paul, V. Agarwal, and N. Garg. Mass spectrometry-based integration and expansion of the chemical diversity harbored within a marine sponge. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 2019.

2019. Paul, V.J., C.J. Freeman, and V. Agarwal. Chemical ecology of marine sponges: New opportunities through “-Omics”. Integrative and Comparative Biology https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icz014

2018. Janiak, D.J., R.W. Osman, C.J. Freeman, and V.J. Paul. Artificial structures versus mangrove prop roots: a general comparison of epifaunal communities within the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 607: 85-98

2018. Freeman, C.J., D. Janiak, R. Osman, M. Mossop, and V.J. Paul. Spatial and temporal shifts in the diet of the barnacle Amphibalanus eburneus within a subtropical estuary. Peer J 6:e5485; DOI 10.7717/peerj.5485

2018. Ohdera, A.H., M.J. Abrams, C.L. Ames, D.M. Baker, L.P. Suescún-Bolívar, A.G. Collins, C.J. Freeman, E. Gamero-Mora, T.L. Goulet, D.K. Hofmann, A. Jaimes-Becerra, P.F. Long, A.C. Marques, L.A. Miller, L.D. Mydlarz, A.C. Morandini, C.R. Newkirk, S.P. Putri, J.E. Samson, S.N. Stampar, B. Steinworth, M. Templeman, P.E. Thomé, M. Vlok, C.M. Woodley, J.C.Y. Wong, M.Q. Martindale, W.K. Fitt, and M. Medina. Upside-Down but headed in the right direction: Review of the highly versatile Cassiopea xamachana system. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 6:35

2018. Baker, D.M., C.J. Freeman, C.Y. Wong, M.L. Fogel, and N. Knowlton. Climate change promotes parasitism in a coral symbiosis. ISME J

2017. Freeman, C.J., E.W. Stoner, C.G. Easson, K.O. Matterson, and D.M. Baker. Variation in δ13C and δ15N values suggests a coupling of host and symbiont metabolism in the Symbiodinium-Cassiopea mutualism. Marine Ecology Progress Series 571: 245-251

2017. Galimany, E., J. Lunt, C.J. Freeman, S. Reed, I. Segura-Garcia, and V.J. Paul. Feeding behavior of oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) in shallow estuaries: implications for bivalve restoration. Marine Ecology Progress Series 567: 125-137

2017. Fiore, C.L., C.J. Freeman, and E.B. Kujawinski. Sponge exhalent seawater contains a unique chemical profile of dissolved organic matter. Peer J 5:e2870 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2870

2017. Galimany, E., C.J. Freeman, J. Lunt, A. Domingos, L. Walters, and P. Sack. Feeding competition between the native oyster Crassostrea virginica and the invasive mussel Mytella charruana. Marine Ecology Progress Series 564: 57-66

2016. Freeman, C.J. and C.G. Easson. Sponge distribution and the presence of photosymbionts in Moorea, French Polynesia. Peer J 4:e1816 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1816

2016. Freeman, C.J., E.W. Stoner, C.G. Easson, K.O. Matterson, and D.M. Baker. Symbiont Carbon and Nitrogen assimilation in the Cassiopea-Symbiodinium mutualism. Marine Ecology Progress Series 544: 281-286

2015. Easson, C.G., K.O. Matterson, C.J. Freeman, S.K. Archer, and R.W. Thacker. Variation in species diversity and functional traits of sponge communities near human populations in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Peer J 3:e1385 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1385

2015. Baker, D.M., C.J. Freeman, N. Knowlton, R.W. Thacker, K. Kim, and M. Fogel. Productivity links morphology, symbiont specificity, and bleaching in the evolution of octocoral symbioses. ISME J 9: 2620-2629

2015. Freeman, C.J., C.G. Easson, and D.M. Baker. Niche structure of marine sponges from temperate hard-bottom habitats within Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 96: 559-565

2015. Freeman, C.J., D.M. Baker, C.G. Easson, and R.W. Thacker. Shifts in sponge-microbe mutualisms across an experimental irradiance gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 526: 41-53