spacer
Stony Brook University -
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Joseph D. Warren
Current Lab Members

Kaylyn Becker
Kaylyn Becker
Kaylyn is a graduate student at SOMAS working in my lab. She is interested in using acoustics to study biological and ecological relationships in the ocean. She will be measuring the acoustic properties of Humboldt Squid and Pacific Hake in hopes of improving the acoustic scattering models for both species.
Emily Markowitz
Emily's picture

Emily is a Stony Brook undergraduate and research assistant in the lab. She will be assisting on our Summer 2012 cruise out of Newport, OR to help study the acoustic properties of Humboldt Squid and Pacific Hake. In the lab, Em has been studying the morphology of the Humboldt Squid, preparing density and measurement protocols for the trip, and analyzing and identifying zooplankton samples from previous cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula. She also likes long walks on the beach, romantic candle-lit dinners and curling up in front of a warm, crackling fire with a hot... steamy... cup of ramen.

Sam Silvestri
Sam's picture

Sam is an undergraduate research laboratory assistant in the lab. She is in her third year at Stony Brook University studying marine vertebrate biology. She has been honing her skills and aiding the lab's efforts through zooplankton counting and identification, taking density measurements, and preparing various lab protocols. She greatly looks forward to examining the diverse Antarctic zooplankton samples in the lab! Sam also thoroughly enjoys piņa coladas and getting caught in the rain, as well as the occasional cheeseburger in paradise.


Steph Mincieli
Steph's picture

Steph is an undergraduate research laboratory assistant in the lab. She is a senior at Stony Brook University and was supposed to write a short bio for the lab web page but didn't, so instead I got to choose her picture and write this section. Steph had a great time on our recent cruise especially when she got to do experiments on small larval fish and squid eyes.


Team Copepod
Copepod Lab's picture
Several undergraduate students at SoMAS are working in my lab helping to analyze net samples from research cruises in Cape Cod Bay and Antarctica. This work involves the identification and enumeration of zooplankton using a microscope, ID guides, and skill!

Former Lab Members

Melissa Mazzocco
Melissa M's picture
Melissa was a Stony Brook undergraduate who was a research assistant on our 2010 and 2011 cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula. She also worked in my lab analyzing zooplankton samples before and after the cruises. She performed numerous tasks on the trip including: chlorophyll filtration of water samples, processing of zooplankton net tows, identification and measurements of zooplankton morphometry, and the measurement of zooplankton density relative to seawater (i.e. she was very busy).
Katie Wurtzell
Katie's picture
Katie was an undergraduate at Cornell University who was a research assistant on our 2010 and 2011 cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula. She performed numerous tasks on the trip including: chlorophyll filtration of water samples, processing of zooplankton net tows, identification and measurements of zooplankton morphometry, and the measurement of zooplankton density relative to seawater (i.e. she was very busy). She analyzed these data as part of her undergraduate thesis and is now in graduate school at the University of Maine.
Joy Smith
Joy's picture
Joy was a graduate student at SoMAS working in my lab. Her thesis work involved collecting material property measurements on live zooplankton in the Bering Sea.  While on the boat, she spent some time helping process and sort pollock. She defended her Master's Thesis in August of 2010 and is currently volunteering in Africa.
Jasmine Valentin
Joy's picture
Jasmine is a graduate student at SoMAS with Demian Chapman who worked in my lab during the summer of 2009 identifying and enumerating the zooplankton caught in our net tows from this past spring's field work in Cape Cod / New England.
Allison Sowa
Joy's picture
Allison was an undergrad at Stony Brook and a veteran of the 2009 MAR 388 Tropical Marine Ecology course in Jamaica where she discovered that tropical fish and corals are neat, but nowhere near as interesting as zooplankton. She is assisting with the analysis of net tow and hydrographic samples from our field work in Cape Cod / New England. She finished her undergraduate degree and is currently working as a research assistant at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center
Team Dolphin 
eric's pic
Several students have working in my lab to study underwater sounds. Eric (shown at left working on some soldering) helped to construct a passive acoustic recorder. Other students are analyzing several months worth of recordings from a rescued dolphin that was rehabilitated at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. We are working with Rob DiGiovanni and others at the foundation to see if the dolphin's vocalizations varied with time, stimulus and other factors.  

There are lots of sounds to be listened to and analyzed so if you are interested in this project, please let me know.
Krissy Forman
Krissy's picture
Krissy was  a Master’s student at Stony Brook University and am interested in using acoustics to look at different biological aspects of the ocean. I am conducting a data analysis of Antarctic zooplankton populations collected through acoustics and net samples. I also am collecting local invertebrates and measring their material properties to improve acoustic models of these animals. Krissy defended her Master's thesis during the summer of 2008.
Lauren Bohrer
Lauren's picture
Lauren was a summer student in the 2008 REU program at Stony Brook University. She currently attends Coastal Carolina University. Her research project involves examining gas production by submerged aquatic vegetation. These data are important for developing acoustic models of the scattering from seagrasses, as well as biologically and ecologically important for the animals that live in, beneath, and amongst the seagrass meadows.
Rachel Goodale
Rachel's picture
Rachel and Emily were Team Ctenophore and worked on ctenophore  and other zooplankton abundances in the local bays of Long Island as part of a SCERP project. They measured feeding rates for ctenophores as well as how their abundance changed over the course of the summer. Rachel is continuing her studies at Stony Brook University, while Emily has moved on to the Univ. of Massachusetts (Go Red Sox !).
[Summer 2007]

I am also looking for students interested in continuing and expanding this research project.
Emily Olesin
Emily's picture
Libby Beckman
Libby's picture
I am a recent graduate of Harvey Mudd College and plan to continue on to graduate school in ecology in the near future. However, before pursuing further education, I am taking some time to explore different aspects of ecology, like acoustics, through direct research experience. This winter I am investigating the impact of biological and physical factors on the distribution of Antarctic Krill around Livingston Island, Antarctica. To do this, I identify krill patches from acoustic survey data and look for patterns in the distribution. [Fall 2006 - Spring 2007, Libby is currently in the Sierra Nevada Mountains conducting bird research.]
Joy Smith
Joy's picture
I'm a senior marine science major at Coastal Carolina University who has wanted to be a marine scientist since the age of five. Now I'm fulfilling that dream! I'm interested in using acoustics to understand water column ecology and how physical properties may influence the surrounding biology. The project I worked on in the lab during the summer of 2006 includes measuring the density of different zooplankton groups and the speed at which sound travels through their bodies. Both measurements will be used acoustically to more accurately estimate the population of zooplankton in a given area. [Summer 2006]

Joy's research has resulted in an upcoming publication in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ! Congratulations Joy.

Joy escaped for a year and worked for the Navy Oceanographic office, however her love of zooplankton was strong and she has returned to New work and is now a graduate student working in my lab.
Jordan Mertes
Jordan's picture
I am begining my senior year in the physics program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and minoring in geology. During the summer of 2006, I worked in the field of Acoustic Oceanography here at Stony Brook Southampton. My work focuses on detecting the photosynthetically caused backscatter fluctuations within the water column caused by eelgrass and phytoplankton, and getting a real nice tan. In the future I plan to become a professor in some field of oceanography or geoscience. [Summer 2006]
Alexandre Nicolas
Alex's picture

A French student at the Lycee Louis le Grand, Paris , I have completed my first year in Higher Education,. I study Maths and Physics and I am due to take examinations to enter an Engineering School (“Grande Ecole”) at the end of next year. Beside my study, I am also interested in reading and doing sport.

During the summer of 2006, I was involved in a two-month long REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. My research program deals with acoustics and its application to Marine Science. My first objective is to construct an array of transducers that can be immersed in seawater. Thereafter I shall run some experiments so as to determine the backscatter of some aquatic species under different angles of orientation and for various frequencies. The final aim of those experiments consists in being able to exploit field data thanks to the results they have provided us with. [Summer 2006]

Elissa Ford
Elissa's picture
Elissa was a student at Southampton College who worked in the lab for the 2003 and 2004 summers. She used an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and a CTD to conduct bathymetric, hydrographic, and physical oceanographic data in the Long Island Southern Shore Estuary system as part of a project funded by NY Sea Grant.  In addition, she collected field measurements of the scattering from submerged aquatic vegetation and collected samples of eel grass.  Elissa and Stephanie were in charge of all field operations during summer 2004. [Summer and Academic Year 2003 - 2004]
Stephanie Grassia
Stephanie's picture
Stephanie was a student at Southampton College who worked in the lab for the 2004 summer. She used an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and a CTD to conduct bathymetric, hydrographic, and physical oceanographic data in the Long Island Southern Shore Estuary system as part of a project funded by NY Sea Grant.  In addition, she collected field measurements of the scattering from submerged aquatic vegetation and collected samples of eel grass.  Elissa and Stephanie were in charge of all field operations during summer 2004. [Summer and Academic Year 2004-5]




www.stonybrook.edu