Doctoral Candidate
Microzooplankton Grazing and Marine Aggregates
Mikayla Cote examines the influence of marine microzooplankton grazing on the production/consumption of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and marine aggregates in general.
Quantitative Biology Education
Faith Frings is interested in developing methods for increasing quantitative literacy in biology courses at the undergraduate level.
Acoustic and Genetic Indicators of Coastal Acoustic
Grant Milne explores the use of passive acoustic monitoring and metabarcoding of seawater samples as methods of measuring soundscape properties and detecting marine taxa to identify indicators of the underwater acoustic environment in temperate coastal habitats.
Using acoustics to monitor dense populations of animals
Valerie Eddington is studying the integration of acoustic and quantitative ecology to investigate new methods for monitoring dense populations of animals.
Effects of heatwaves on small-scale fisheries and marine ecosystems
Andrew (Drew) Villeneuve (he/him/his) is a global change marine ecologist interested in working with data across scales of ecological organization to better understand the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and the people that depend on them.
Marine invasion ecology
Researcher Matt Tyler interested in the long-term effects non-native algae and sessile animals will have on intertidal and subtidal communities in the Gulf of Maine, and what role they will play in facilitating or resisting future invasions.
Biogeography and Ecology of Seaweeds
Brandon O'Brien is investigating how the composition of seaweed communities in the Gulf of Maine has changed over time.
Seabird trophic and movement ecology and the use of seabirds in monitoring forage fish communities
Researcher Aliya Caldwell GOM-breeding Common Terns and the forage fishes they rely on, which include species of herring, hake, and sand lance among others.
Designing Poplar and Willow plants for increased Nitrogen and Carbon assimilation and Biomass yield
Medini Weerasinghe's research focuses on producing transgenic plants of poplar with genes that regulate polyamine biosynthesis.
Microplastics and marine life in Great Bay
Taja Sims-Harper is a doctoral student in the marine biology Ph.D. program. She conducts research on microplastics in oysters and other marine life in Great Bay in the lab of Bonnie Brown, professor of ecological genetics and the chair of the department of biological sciences.
Developing better ways to monitor marine habitats
Grant Milne graduated from Thiel College in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in conservation biology and a Bachelor of Arts in biology before joining COLSA's biological sciences: marine biology Ph.D. program. The Portville, New York native, who once had a gray seal chew on his fin while he was SCUBA...
Studying the impact of invasive green crabs on shellfish in Great Bay Estuary
Kelsey Meyer is a doctoral student in COLSA’s biological sciences: marine biology Ph.D. program. She currently spends a lot of time traversing Great Bay in a small boat, collecting invasive green crabs, baiting traps and monitoring tiles for oyster spat.