Current Research
In 1998, a 40 year moratorium was enacted to prevent the harvest of Atlantic sturgeon. Currently there are concerns that Atlantic sturgeon recovery is being hindered by bycatch in the near-shore oceanic fishery. While little information exists on the oceanic habitats of Atlantic sturgeon, commercial trawl fishers have frequently reported large bycatches of sturgeon along the south shore of Long Island.
My current research investigates the marine habitat use, abundance, and age structure of sub-adult Atlantic Sturgeon along the south shore of Long Island. This is accomplished through a random stratified trawl survey. We are still currently analyzing data.
Masters Degree
My research looked at growth of spring spawned and summer spawned bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, under common garden conditions. The bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, has two distinct cohorts that recruit to estuaries within the Mid Atlantic Bight. The spring cohort, which is spawned off of North Carolina and transported northward recruits to estuaries in early June while the summer cohort is spawned off of Long Island and recruits in mid August. Estimated growth rates using otoliths suggests that the summer spawned cohort grows faster than the spring spawn. Specifically, I tested the hypothesis that the summer spawned cohort underwent a pattern of growth called countergradient growth variation . Countergradient growth variation is an adaptive response for organism to overcome overwinter mortality, where northern fish have a higher capacity of growth do to their substantially shorter growing season. If present, we would have expected the summer spawned cohort to have higher growth rates, higher consumption rates and higher food conversion efficiencies. The results of this study are inconsistent with this theory. In fact, I found that the spring cohorts growth rate is equal to or greater than that of the summer cohort. This suggests that in the wild the spring cohort is affected by environmental variables more than the summer cohort. The summer cohort, showed significantly higher consumption rates and weight gain (warm treatment, large size class). This may be an adaptive response to overcome winter mortality.
My research looked at growth of spring spawned and summer spawned bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, under common garden conditions. The bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, has two distinct cohorts that recruit to estuaries within the Mid Atlantic Bight. The spring cohort, which is spawned off of North Carolina and transported northward recruits to estuaries in early June while the summer cohort is spawned off of Long Island and recruits in mid August. Estimated growth rates using otoliths suggests that the summer spawned cohort grows faster than the spring spawn. Specifically, I tested the hypothesis that the summer spawned cohort underwent a pattern of growth called countergradient growth variation . Countergradient growth variation is an adaptive response for organism to overcome overwinter mortality, where northern fish have a higher capacity of growth do to their substantially shorter growing season. If present, we would have expected the summer spawned cohort to have higher growth rates, higher consumption rates and higher food conversion efficiencies. The results of this study are inconsistent with this theory. In fact, I found that the spring cohorts growth rate is equal to or greater than that of the summer cohort. This suggests that in the wild the spring cohort is affected by environmental variables more than the summer cohort. The summer cohort, showed significantly higher consumption rates and weight gain (warm treatment, large size class). This may be an adaptive response to overcome winter mortality.
Research