School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences

People

Graduate Students - Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

Name	Degree	Advisor	Research Interests	Email
Chris Anderson	Ph.D.	Andrew Carlson	My PhD research is focused on evaluating current and future thermal habitat suitability of non-native freshwater fish in Florida’s lotic ecosystems.	cander87@ufl.edu
Kimberly Bonvechio	Ph.D.	Andrew Carlson	I am evaluating FWC’s freshwater fisheries long-term monitoring program from multiple perspectives; identifying ways to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness into the future, and increasing our understanding of drivers influencing freshwater sportfish populations and fish community structure across Florida.	bonvechiok@ufl.edu
Roberto Cárdenas-Retamal	Ph.D.	Frank Asche and Di Fang	My research focuses on a diverse range of topics associated with fisheries and aquaculture production and consumption, seafood supply chains and markets, the communities where these activities take place, and their impact on sustainability in different dimensions.	robertocardenasr@ufl.edu
Karen Carvajal	Ph.D.	Leonardo Ibarra-Castro	My research focuses on fish nutrition, embryology, and larval rearing, with an emphasis on sustainable approaches to improve aquaculture practices, enhancing fish health, growth, and survival.	carvajalk@ufl.edu
Juan Manuel Cortes	M.S.	Kai Lorenzen	I specialize in mark/recapture studies amongst Florida's reef fish fisheries. Ecological analyses, social science research/survey development, and GIS mapping are some of my major research goals for my thesis.	juancortes1@ufl.edu
Taylor Dluzniewski	M.S.	Mike Allen
Brady Donovan	MFAS	Jeff Hill	My research focuses on a temporal analysis of largemouth bass and their forage base in a tidal oligohaline system.
Leonardo Eguia	M.S.	Deb Murie	My research focuses on assessing effort shifts towards Hogfish and associated discards in the recreational hook and line fishery in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. I will be using data collected from FWC and NOAA to characterize the effort shift and magnitude of discards as well as assess the physical attributes of barotrauma in Hogfish that influence post-release mortality.	leguia@ufl.edu
Sabrina Fischer	M.S.	Shirley Baker	My research focuses on whether habitat restoration (oysters and reservoirs/stormwater treatment areas) is an effective management tool to reduce nutrient levels in the St. Lucie Estuary.	s.fischer@ufl.edu
Katherine Henning	M.S.	Deb Murie and Robert Lamb	My research interests include coastal fish community ecology, and the potential impacts of climate change-driven range expansion of fishes in these communities.	k.henning@ufl.edu
Annsli Hilton	M.S.	Deb Murie	Annsli is interested in the life history of the Northeastern Atlantic population of night sharks. Her research will focus on the age and growth of the species.	annsli.hilton@ufl.edu
William Kehoe	M.S.	David Chagaris and Frank Asche	My research focuses on modeling the bioeconomic relationships between stone crabs and the people who rely on them; as well as further modeling aspects of stone crab population dynamics.
Travis Knorr	MFAS	Matt DiMaggio	I am researching early life stage feeds for ornamental finfish with the goal of discovering and defining new protocols that would reduce the use of Artemia spp. nauplii, potentially lowering production costs for domestic and specifically Florida ornamental fish farmers.	travis.knorr@ufl.edu
Shelly Krueger	Ph.D.	Josh Patterson	My research interests are sponge restoration aquaculture in the Florida Keys.
Abby Ladner	M.S.	Mike Allen	Abby is interested in the conservation and restoration of threatened species. Currently she is creating a habitat suitability index for the bay scallop in Florida's panhandle to inform future restoration efforts in the area.	abigail.ladner@ufl.edu
Bethany Lee	Ph.D.	Anna Braswell	I am interested in seed-based restoration for salt marsh and tidal restoration; specifically in developing seed mixes, methodologies, and monitoring for wetland restoration sites.	bethanylee@ufl.edu
Gabrielle Love	M.S.	Ed Camp and Shirley Baker	My research focuses on the dynamics of predator-prey interactions on oyster reefs, specifically how factors like variations in salinity and prey density mediate mortality by predation. I am conducting a field experiment to assess differences in oyster mortality and predator abundance along natural gradients in the Suwannee River estuary.
Baylor Lynch	M.S.	Gretchen Lescord	My M.S. research focuses on the utilization of chemical tracers to explore and delineate food web dynamics, with a focus on lacustrine subtropical systems in Florida.	lynch.b@ufl.edu
Logan Masterson	M.S.	Andrew Carlson	My research focuses on the interface between management of fisheries and invasive plants (e.g., hydrilla) in the Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida. I am studying Grass Carp movement, habitat use, emigration, and post-stocking mortality to develop a population model and identify strategies for balancing biological and chemical approaches for invasive plant management.
Paul McDonald	Ph.D.	Huiping Yang	I work in mulluscan shellfish genetics within aquaculture and restoration research.	p.mcdonald@ufl.edu
Kyle Miller	M.S.	Andrew Carlson	Kyle's research focuses on the ecology and conservation of imperiled Bluenose Shiner in Florida. Kyle is monitoring Bluenose Shiner abundance along with water velocity, depth, substrate, and other habitat factors to develop a range-wide Habitat Suitability Index for Bluenose Shiner.
Kelli O'Donnell	Ph.D.	Josh Patterson	My research interests include updating coral restoration best practices by providing research results in peer-reviewed journals that inform management.	kelliodonnell@ufl.edu
Kaitlyn O'Neil	M.S.	Josh Patterson	My research will be focused on reproduction and spawning of red drum fish in captivity. Specifically, I’m hoping to be able to quantify the oocyte stages of red drum fish throughout the regression, regeneration, and spawning phases in captivity and describe any atresia identified.
Kent Semmen	Ph.D.	Dan Canfield	My current research focus is looking at the water treatment dynamics of oxygen and ozone nanobubble treatment in closed-system aquaria with a focus on the ecological benefits.
Cheyenne Stratton	M.S.	Lindsey Reisinger	My research investigates the role of pathogens in biological invasions and their potential use to control invasive crayfish populations.
April Thomas	MFAS	Shirley Baker	April's research focuses on the use of living shorelines in restoring riparian and intertidal habitat and providing enhanced ecosystem services and benefits to shoreline stabilization infrastructure for waterfront properties.	thomas.aj@ufl.edu
Ellen Umeda	MFAS	Shirley Baker	I am interested in developing protocols for spawning and culturing west coast echinoderm species (bat stars, warty sea cucumbers, purple sea urchins, etc.) in a public aquarium setting.	ellenumeda@ufl.edu
Taylor Wesner	MFAS	Shirley Baker
Andrew Wooley	M.S.	Andrew Carlson	Andrew's research focuses on the ecology and conservation of Smalltooth Sawfish in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Andrew is using acoustic telemetry to assess the duration and timing of sawfish habitat use in the harbor, with emphasis on nursery, refuge, and foraging areas and other high-priority locations.
Jayme Yee	M.S.	Huiping Yang
Yangqing Zeng	Ph.D.	Huiping Yang