Graduate Students
Graduate students working with the NCBS in 2020 were supported by a combination of grant funds, UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences matching funds, and state funds from NCBS and other units. These graduate students are addressing natural resource conservation and management on topics including fish and wildlife management, species of special concern, effects of oyster restoration efforts on human communities, and threats and challenges for managing human interactions, fisheries, and wildlife.

Scott Alford
Ph.D., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Effects of salinity on estuarine food webs: integrating field, lab, and modeling approaches to predict consequences of altered salinity in the Suwannee River estuary. Major Advisor: Charlie Martin

Shanae Allen
Ph.D., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Estimating red tide impacts on fisheries. Major Advisor: David Chagaris.

Trent Aguilar
Ph.D., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Evaluating stressors for sea turtle population viability given human use increases in Florida. Major Advisors: Mike Allen and Ray Carthy

Jordan Bajema
M.S. student in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Estimating nursery sources for range expanding Common Snook through otolith chemistry. Major Advisors: Will Patterson

Alexandra Bijak
Ph.D. student in Soil and Water Sciences. Biodiversity effects on seagrass blue carbon. Major Advisors: Laura Reynolds and Ashley Smyth.

Hannah Brown
Ph.D. Nature Coast Sea Grant Scholar for the UF IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station, UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. This fellowship that funds her research on collaboration in oyster restoration projects on the Gulf Coast for three years. Major Advisor: Susan Jacobson.

Taylor Dluzniewski
M.S., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Evaluating critical fish habitat during winter in coastal rivers of Central Florida. Major Advisor: Mike Allen

Keel Condy
M.S., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Trophic effects of common snook population increases on coastal fisheries in the Suwannee River Estuary. Major Advisor: Mike Allen and Will Patterson

Savannah Gandee
MFAS student, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Decadal patterns in fish communities in relation to habitat and extreme events in Clearwater Bay. Major Advisors: Savanna Barry and Josh Patterson

Daniel Vilas Gonzalez
Ph.D. student in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. West Florida Shelf spatial modeling. Major Advisor: David Chagaris.

Rick Herren
Ph.D., Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Identifying critical habitat for juvenile and adult sea turtle in the Nature Coast. Major Advisor: Ray Carthy.

Liam Kehoe

Audrey Looby
M.S. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Submerged aquatic vegetation preferences of fishes in Lake Apopka. Major Advisor: Charlie Martin

Emma Pistole
M.S., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Genetic composition of Common Snook in an expanding range along the Nature Coast. Major Advisors: Mike Allen and Mike Tringali (FWRI)

John Polasik
M.S., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Evaluation of factors influence recruitment of Hogfish. Major Advisors: Charlie Martin and Mike Allen

Jamila Roth
Ph.D. student, School of Natural Resources and Environment. Effects of environmental change on seagrass resilience and plant-herbivore interactions. Major advisor: Laura Reynolds.

Adam Searles
Ph.D., student, School of Natural Resources and Environment. Determining the Mechanisms Driving Community-Level Differences Between Seagrass and Macroalgae Dominated Coastal Habitats. Major Advisors: Laura Reynolds and Charlie Martin

Dylan Sinnickson
Ph.D., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Food web dynamics in the Suwannee River Estuary with implications from altered flow and habitat changes. Major Advisor: David Chagaris.