Expertise
Research areas are conservation paleobiology of coral reefs and early metazoan evolution.Biography
Dr. Burzynski is a paleobiologist and marine ecologist. He has a PhD (2017) in geological science from Queen’s University (Kingston, ON, Canada), an MS (2010) in geology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (Wilmington, NC, USA), a BS (2007) in biology from Salisbury University (Salisbury, MD, USA), and as AA (2005) in Life Sciences from Howard Community College (Columbia, MD, USA). Prior to his role at the University of the Virgin Islands, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at Fairfield University (2022 – 2024) where he helped to found an affinity group for disabled and neurodivergent faculty and staff, and a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Ecology and Evolution at Susquehanna University (2021 – 2022). He also volunteered as a Gallery Ambassador at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (2023 – 2024) in Norwalk, CT, USA, and a tour guide for the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust (2018 – 2023) in Isle La Motte, VT, USA.
He was born in Santa Maria, California, and moved to Columbia, Maryland at age 6. He enjoys snorkeling, light hiking, music, sports, trying new foods, traveling/sightseeing, and riding his electric scooter.
Anything else you want to know, just ask!
Abstract of Research
I am interested in conservation paleobiology of coral reefs. The goal of my lab is to compare recent (≤12,000 year old) fossil reefs to modern reefs, to see how reefs have changed over the Holocene, with the goal of aiding coral reef conservation and reconstruction.
I am also interested in deep-time evolution of the animal kingdom in the Neoproterozoic era (1,000 – 539 million years ago). In particular, I’m interested in the role of predation in early metazoan evolution, the role of reefs in early metazoan evolution, and physical modeling of early metazoan bauplans. Related to this, I am also interested in the ecology of soft-bodied cnidarians as apex predators, particularly how they influence benthic communities.
Publications
Darroch, S.A.F., Gutarra, S., Masaki, H., Olaru, A., Gibson, B.M., Dunn, F.S., Mitchell, E.G., Racicot, R.A., Burzynski, G., Rahman, I.A., 2023. The rangeomorph Pectinifrons abyssalis: Hydrodynamic function at the dawn of animal life. iScience 26, 105989. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.105989
Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A., Dalrymple, R.W., 2020. Cryogenian Aspidella from northwestern Canada. Precambrian Research 336, 105507. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2019.105507
Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., Dececchi, T.A., Dalrymple, R.W., 2017. The ins and outs of Ediacaran discs. Precambrian Research 300, 246–260. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2017.08.012
Burzynski, G., Narbonne, G.M., 2015. The discs of Avalon: relating discoid fossils to frondose organisms in the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 434, 34–45. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.01.014
