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Current Graduate Students
Major Advisor - Dr. Ruth H. Carmichael (rcarmichael@disl.org)
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Name: Kayla DaCosta Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Population connectivity and habitat utilization of the West Indian manatee in the northern Gulf of Mexico |
Academic training: BS in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University Email: kdacosta@disl.org |
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Name: Ashley Frith Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Environmental effects on histamine production in decomposing fish |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from Brown University Email: afrith@disl.org |
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Name: Matthew R. Hodanbosi Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Influence of freshwater influx on the diet and body condition of the common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, in Mobile Bay, Alabama, United States. |
Academic training: BS in Evolution and Ecology from The Ohio State University, MS in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Email: mhodanbosi@disl.org |
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Name: Haley Nicholson Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Larval oyster (Crassostrea virginica) settlement, distribution, and growth in a freshwater dominated and human influenced estuary |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from University of Miami Email: hnicholson@disl.org |
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Name: Kimberly Peter Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Use of elemental signatures to detect and trace contaminant entry to the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal food web: managing multiple stressors |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University Email: kpeter@disl.org |
Major Advisor - Dr. Just Cebrian (jcebrian@disl.org)
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Name: Jamie Amato Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Environmentally-friendly alternatives to bulkheads for resilient and healthy shorelines: evaluation and implementation of two living shoreline designs |
Academic training: BS in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from Louisiana State University Email: jamato@disl.org |
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Name: Aaron Macy Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Functional Shifts with Tropicalization in the Louisiana Marsh-Mangrove Ecotone |
Academic training: BS in Oceanography from Florida Institute of Technology Email: amacy@disl.org |
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Name: Caitlin Wessel Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Marine Debris in the northern Gulf of Mexico |
Academic training: BS in Secondary Education from The University of Pittsburgh, MS in Coastal, Marine and Wetland Studies from Coastal Carolina University Email: cwessel@disl.edu |
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Name: Laura West Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Primary Productivity across a gradient of water quality in the northern Gulf of Mexico |
Academic training: BS in Biology from Gordon State College Email: lwest@disl.org |
Major Advisor - Dr. Kelly Drogan (kdrogan@disl.org)
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Name: Cy Clemo Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Relating physical disturbance, sediment geotechnical properties, and infaunal succession |
Academic training: BS in Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia |
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Name: Sarah Cole Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Mud blister Worm, Polydora websteri, Infestation on Farmed Oysters Along the Alabama Coast |
Academic training: BS in Marine Science with a biology concentration from Eckerd College Email: scole@disl.org |
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Name: Kara Gadeken Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Coastal sediment response to the diel oxygen cycle |
Academic training: BS in Biology and minor in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary Email: kgadeken@disl.org |
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Name: Ryan Parker Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Sublethal Effects of Oil on Infaunal Bioturbation Rates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico |
Academic training: BS in Biology form The University of Southern Mississippi Email: rparker@disl.org |
Major Advisor - Dr. Brian Dzwonkowski (bdzwonkowski@disl.org)
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Name: Jeffrey Coogan Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: An Investigation of Estuarine Physics in Mobile Bay |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from Florida Institute of Technology, MS in Ocean Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology Email: Jcoogan@disl.org |
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Name: Steve Dykstra Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: The impact of freshwater discharge on coastal environments |
Academic Training: BS Geology from Calvin College, MS Environmental Science Email: sdykstra@disl.org |
Major Advisor - Dr. Ronald P. Kiene (rkiene@disl.org)
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Name: Kyle Halstead Program of study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Biogeochemistry of S-Methylmethionine and other amino acids in Mobile Bay |
Academic training: BS in Marine/Organismal Biology from Spring Hill College Email: khalstead@disl.org
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Name: Dianne Palmore Jordan Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Biogeochemistry of Sulfur Compounds in Marine Sediments |
Academic training: BS in Geology from University of South Alabama, MS in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Tulane University Email: cdpalmore@southalabama.edu
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Name: Tara Williams Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Methanethiol concentrations in surface seawater and the relative importance of different precursors |
Academic training: BA in biology from the University of North Carolina Email: twilliams@disl.org |
Major Advisor - Dr. Jeffrey W. Krause (jkrause@disl.org)
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Name: Israel A. Marquez Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: The role of mechanical and chemical sensing in copepod grazing selectivity on diatoms. MS thesis - The biogeochemical consequences of mesoscale eddies in the Sargasso Sea
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Academic training: BS in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara, MS in Marine Science from University of South Alabama Email: imarquez@disl.org
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Name: Rebecca A. Pickering Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Silica Cycling at the Sediment Water Interface of Coastal Systems |
Academic training: BS Marine Science - Concentration in Geology from Eckerd College, 2011, MS Geology - Concentration in Geochemistry from Georgia State University, 2014 Email: Rpickering@disl.org
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Major Advisor - Dr. John Lehrter (jlehrter@disl.org)
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Name: Alexis Hagemeyer Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS Marine Biology from Central Methodist University |
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Name: Cassandra Bates Program of Study: MS
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Academic Training: BS in Biology from LaGrange College |
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Name: Aubrey Bianco Program of Study: MS
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Academic Training: BS in Biology from Franklin Pierce University |
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Name: Angela Garelick Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS in Biology from California State University Channel Islands |
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Name: Charlotte Falls Program of Study: MS
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Academic Training: BS in biology from University of South Alabama |
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Name: Grace Forster Program of Study: MS
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Academic Training: BS in Biology with a concentration of Marine Sciences from University of South Alabama |
Major Advisor - Dr. Sean P. Powers (spowers@disl.org)
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Name: Pearce Cooper Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Assessing population and estuarine scale subdivision in Sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, using population genomics and otolith chemistry |
Academic training: BS Fisheries Sciences, Virginia Tech Email: pcooper@disl.org |
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Name: Edward Kim Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Age, growth, abundance, and distribution of Gray Snapper in coastal and offshore Alabama waters. |
Academic training: BA in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, 2016 Email: ekim@disl.org
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Name: Merritt McCall Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS in Marine biology from Auburn University Email: mmccall@disl.org |
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Name: T. Reid Nelson Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Elucidating habitat use, movements, and growth of euryhaline species |
Academic training: Marine Biology BS University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Fisheries MS Auburn Email: tnelson@disl.org |
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Name: Frank D'Alonzo, III Program of Study: MS |
Academic training: BS in Marine Science from Samford University Email: fdalonzo@disl.org |
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Name: Cassandra Eldredge Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from Florida Southern College |
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Name: Allison Fletcher Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from The University of Southern Mississippi |
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Name: Justin McDonald Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Age, growth, abundance, and distribution of Greater Amberjack in offshore Alabama waters. |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from Troy University Email: jmcdonald@disl.org |
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Name: Toni Thomason Program of Study: MS
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Academic training: BS from Auburn University in Integrative Biology |
Major Advisor - Dr. Allison Robertson (arobertson@disl.org)
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Name: Clayton Bennett Program of Study: MS Thesis or Dissertation title: Ciguatoxin dynamics of a coral reef food web: A multi-pathway feeding study with Caridean shrimp (Palaemonidae) and damselfishes (Pomacentridae) |
Academic training: B.S. in Marine Biology Troy University, July 2012 Email: cbennett@disl.org |
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Name: Jessica Gwinn Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Toxicokinetic Properties of Caribbean Ciguatoxins: Linking Organismal to Ecological Movement of Ciguatoxins |
Academic training: BS in Bioenvironmental Sciences and BS in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, both from Texas A&M University, 2016 Email: jgwinn@disl.org
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Major Advisor - Dr. Lee Smee (lsmee@disl.org)
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Name: Kelly Correia Program of Study: Ph.D.
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Academic training: BS in Marine Science at Auburn University, MS in Biology at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi Email: kcorreia@disl.org |
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Name: Meredith Diskin Program of Study: Ph.D. Thesis or Dissertation title: Impacts of Black Mangrove Expansion in Salt Marshes on Sensory Ecology and Predator-Prey Interactions |
Academic training: BS in Marine Biology from the College of Charleston, MS in Biology from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |