Research Team

Research Interest:

My research centers on the community and population ecology of aquatic organisms, with a special emphasis on marine fishes. I am particularly interested in linkages between habitat selection, individual responses, and survival. My work is both laboratory and field-based, and I typically use both quantitative and experimental approaches to elucidate the importance of biotic and abiotic factors that influence growth, condition, and survival. In addition, we are currently using a variety of natural markers to solve ecological problems. Otolith chemistry is being used to retrospectively determine the environmental histories of marine fishes. The premise of otolith chemistry is that certain elements or isotopes are incorporated into otoliths in proportion to their concentrations in the environment, and thus we use these elemental fingerprints to distinguish individuals from different environments or regions. We also use dietary tracers (stable isotopes, fatty acids) to investigate marine food web structure since consumer tissues reflect the isotopic and fatty acid composition of prey in a predictable manor. These natural biomarkers provide time-integrated or long-term measures of diet, and both approaches afford information on source(s) of organic matter supporting local food webs as well as trophic relationships of associated consumers. Recent work also involves the use of sophisticated electronic tags to investigate movement and population connectivity of coastal and pelagic fishes.

Education:

B.S. Texas A&M University (2008)
M.S. Texas A&M University (2013)

Research Interests:

My research interests focus on the design and efficacy of marine protected areas and the populations they aim to protect. My dissertation research will examine high resolution habitat use and larval dispersal of key native and invasive reef associated fishes at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary during different life history stages using acoustic telemetry and biophysical modeling. I have worked at NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as a research specialist since 2007. 

Education:

B.S. Texas A&M University (2020)

Research Interests:

My research interests include ecosystem-level interactions, stable isotope analysis, and integrating these two subjects to ask questions about an evolving environment due to climate change. I hope to design my dissertation to look at isotope fractionation and transfer through several trophic levels in the context of rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification and applying Compound Specific Stable Isotope Analysis of Amino Acids for analysis.

Education:

B.S. Gettysburg College (2017)

Research Interests:

My research interests focus on marine bioacoustics, specifically how sound—both anthropogenic and natural---affects fish behavior and physiology and how long-term, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can be used as a population assessment tool for fisheries management. My dissertation will examine the role sounds play in larval fish orientation, observe the impacts anthropogenic noises have on fish stress levels and behavior in situ, and determine if soniferous fish populations have changed in the northern Gulf of Mexico based on calling patterns analyzed in a long-term, PAM dataset.

Education:

B.S. Frostburg State University (2018)

Research Interests:

My research interests are on the ecology of juvenile marine fishes. My thesis will focus on understanding the impact of environmental conditions on the recruitment dynamics of fishes found in seagrass beds and marsh edges in Matagorda Bay, Texas. In addition to recruitment, this study aims to quantify nursery habitat by looking at the growth and condition of early post-settlement sized fish found in each habitat type.

Education:

B.S. Texas A&M University (2018)

Research Interests:

I am interested in small and large scale connectivity of marine fishes.  My research involves using acoustic telemetry and satellite tags in order to observe migrations of Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) along the Texas coast. With this information I hope to aid in the further understanding the timing and migration pathways of tarpon.

Education:

B.S. Texas A&M University (2005)

Research Interests:

I am interested in studying the life history and population dynamics of marine fishes. I have worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, Regulatory division as a Project manager since 2008.

Education:

Ph.D. Louisiana State University (2011)
B.S. Texas A&M University (2004)

Research Interests:

My research interests include ecology and population dynamics of marine fish, with an emphasis on conservation and management. The majority of my work has centered on using otolith chemistry to estimate population connectivity and stock structure of different ecologically and economically important marine fish.  In addition to these natural tags, I have assisted in deploying acoustic and satellite tags to investigate the movement and habitat preference of estuarine and coastal fishes.

Education:

M.S. Texas A&M University (2014)
B.S. Trinity University (2011)

Research Interests:

My research focuses on marine fish connectivity and habitat preference. I use acoustic telemetry to look at estuary fish species to observe movement patterns and understand the influence of environmental conditions on behavior and habitat use.

Current Position:

Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University.

Current Position:

Environmental Specialist, Perennial Environmental Services.

Current Position:

Business Administrator I, Department of Marine Biology & Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Current Position:

Post Doctoral Research Associate, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Current Position:

Ph.D. Student, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Current Position:

Ph.D. student, Joint Doctorate with San Diego State University and UC Davis.

Current Position:

Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire.

Current Position:

Senior Staff Scientist, Cardno ENTRIX, Houston, TX.

Current Position:

Ph.D. student, Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Current Position:

Southeast Regional Aquaculture Coordinator, Aquaculture Program, NOAA, US Department of Commerce.

Current Position:

Secondary Science Teacher, Katy ISD, TX.

Current Position:

Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Current Position:

Station Supervisor, Lake Erie Biological Station, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Sandusky, Ohio.

Current Position:

Research Associate, Hainan University.

Current Position:

Associate Professor, University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

Current Position:

Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Current Position:

Assistant Research Scientist and Fisheries and Mariculture Program Coordinator, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.

Current Position:

Research Scientist, National Research Council, Italy (IAMC-CNR, UOS di Capo Granitola)