Principal Investigator:
Dr. Stokesbury is the Dean for the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His research examines the marine ecology of invertebrates and fish, their spatial distribution, population dynamics, and the impacts of fishing and energy development. For the past 20 years, his work has focused on the sea scallop resource, including stock assessment, rotational fishery management strategies, growth and mortality estimates, gear development, and environmental assessment. Most of his research is collaborative with the fishing industries of Canada and the United States and he was awarded the David H. Wallace Award from the National Shellfish Association (2013) and the Standard-Times South Coast Man of the Year (2018) for his two decades of science in the public interest, and the connections he has made between fishermen and science.
His research has been published in 68 scientific papers and 5 book chapters and funded by over 100 competitive grants (totaling >$ 39 million). He was the founding chair of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at SMAST from 2005 to 2016. He serves on several ICES committees including Chair of the Scallop Assessment Working Group from 2013 to 2018, and Chair of the Nephrops Benchmark Workshop in 2009. He served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine steering committee for “Fisheries Research and Monitoring for Atlantic Offshore Development – A Workshop.” and has recently been appointed to the “Assessment and Advancement of Science in the Bureau of Ocean Energy management’s Environmental Studies Program.” He was a subject editor for Ecological Applications for 10 years and currently is on the Journal of Shellfish Research and Reviews in Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture editorial boards. He supervises 6 MS and 1 PhD student, while 28 students (5 PhD, 23 MS) have graduated from his laboratory.
Staff:
Amber Lisi – Program Manager
Amber is the program manager for the Stokesbury lab and oversees all projects and their budgets. Amber earned her M.S under Dr. Ken Oliviera at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Prior to her current position, Amber worked as a scallop scientist at the Maine DMR.
Dr. Adam Delargy – Research Assistant Professor
Adam is postdoctoral fisheries researcher working on quantitative data analysis, survey design and stock assessment methods. In addition, Adam is also an experienced field researcher focused on scallop surveys using cameras and towed gears from vessels. His research has primarily concentrated on scallops, but he also have been involved in successful pieces of work involving crabs, coral reef fisheries, aquaculture and fishing impacts.
Max Zavell – Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Max is a fisheries postdoctoral researcher and team lead for all aspects of the labs offshore wind farm monitoring surveys. He primarily works on all aspects of wind farm research, including ventless trap, ichthyoplankton, and whelk surveys. In addition, Max is an experienced lab biologist and has conducted experiments that assess the physiological effects of climate change across multiple life stages of fishes and invertebrates. His past and current research studies the organismal and population-level effect of anthropogenic change on marine species to better inform critical stakeholders and manage/maintain fisheries resources. Outside of the lab, Max enjoys spending time outdoors and can usually be found fly fishing.
Nick Calabrese – Senior Technical Associate, Groundfish Lead and PhD Student
Nick is a PhD student and research technician in the Stokesbury lab. He works on the video trawl survey, which uses cameras placed in a trawl net to count and measure fish without ever having to capture them. Nick also developed a PIT tag detection system that can scan tagged fish as they pass through the codend, allowing us to estimate population size through mark-recapture experiments. In addition to his work in the lab he is also an avid recreational and commercial rod and reel fisherman.
Craig Lego – Senior Technical Associate, Scallop Survey and Equipment Coordinator, Image Processing Lead
Craig is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys scuba diving, snowboarding, mountain biking, or just about anything outside. He works as a technical associate for the Stokesbury Lab and assists in coordinating and executing the scallop surveys in cooperation with industry fishermen as well as maintaining the gear and helping other lab personnel in the various studies conducted. Craig’s masters research focused on small-scale spatial interactions between scallops and sea stars on Georges Bank.
Brittany Morgan – Technical Associate, Image Processing Lead
Brittany is a technical associate managing the drop camera digitizers and providing quality assurances for drop camera images. She provides support for other lab research projects; assists in at-sea data collections; and helps with reports and proposals. Brittany received her Master’s Degree in Marine Biology from University College Cork, and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marine Biology from University of West Florida with a minor in Environmental Science.
Andie Painten – Technical Associate, Lobster Lead and Masters student
Andie serves as the technical lead for the Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) offshore wind farm monitoring surveys in our lab and is also pursuing her Masters degree. She primarily works on the ventless trap surveys targeting American lobster, Jonah crab, and black sea bass. As a master’s student, her research focuses on the potential interactions of offshore wind farms on the life cycle of southern New England Black sea bass.
Matt Rothschild McColl – Technical Associate, Scallop Equipment Coordinator
Matt is a Technical Associate for the Stokesbury Lab and assists Craig Lego in coordinating and executing drop camera surveys for sea scallops and assists other lab member projects. Matt comes to the lab after just graduating from California Maritime Academy with a Bachelor’s of Science in Oceanography. During his time at Cal Maritime, he focused his undergraduate research on characterizing nutrient uptake of a toxic algae, Heterosigma akashiwo, in the San Francisco Estuary. During his free time, you will most likely find him exploring the underwater world in both cold and tropical waters after recently completing a certified Dive Master course in kelp forests of Monterey, CA.
Graduate Students:
Amy Martins – Amy Martins is a PhD graduate student working on offshore wind development and shaping best practices for collaborating and collecting the best science. Amy is a Supervisory Fishery Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Woods Hole, with the Fishery Monitoring and Research Division. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Maine, in Wildlife Population Management, and studied prey selection and aging of harbor seals. Her BS is from UMass Amherst in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. She has spent many years at sea in the Northwest Atlantic collecting bycatch data in commercial fisheries and abundance, distribution, DNA, and life history information on marine mammals and sea turtles. Amy has also worked in Alaska (with the salmon fisheries) and Antarctica (with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources CCAMLR) developing data collection programs. Amy loves nature photography, skiing, hiking, and traveling and has lived in Australia, France, and Zimbabwe.
Amanda Meli – Amanda graduated with her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2018. She started in Dr. Kevin Stokesbury’s lab in 2018 as a lab technician. In 2019, she enrolled in a Masters program at SMAST; her current masters thesis work is creating a baseline assessment of crustaceans along the continental shelf utilizing the drop camera survey and investigating what environmental variables affect their distribution.
Stephanie Merhoff – Stephanie Merhoff is a PhD student primarily working on the open codend video trawl survey. Her graduate research focuses on New England groundfish community structure and interactions. She got her B.S. in Biology from Oregon State University in 2017, during which she worked in a rocky intertidal ecology lab. After graduation, she worked for the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife for four years, focusing on marine fisheries surveys and survey data analysis.
Helena Norton – Helena is a Masters student and research assistant in the Stokesbury Lab. She primarily works on the video trawl survey, which uses cameras placed in a trawl net to count and measure fish without ever having to capture them. Her current masters thesis work is focused on Spiny Dogfish. Helena received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marine Science, Safety, and Environmental Protection from Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a minor in Marine Biology. Along side her research, Helena is a certified Dive Master, nature lover, and traveler.
Ashwin Panicker – Ash graduated from HNBG Central University in India in the fall of 2023 with a B.Sc. in Forestry. His passion for marine science stems from his love of scuba diving and his dedication to wetland and marine conservation. He joined the lab in the fall of 2024 and is involved in various projects. His thesis will focus on the Atlantic Sea Scallops. Outside the lab, Ash enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as trekking, hiking, and snowboarding. He is also a percussionist and has been part of several musical groups in India.
Bella Travers – Bella graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the spring of 2024, with a BS in Coastal and Marine Sciences. She joined the lab in the summer of 2024 as a Masters student and works across all projects. Her thesis is in development but will primarily focus on offshore wind development in southern New England and fisheries interactions. Outside of the lab, Bella enjoys reading, sea glass hunting, and yoga.
Sierra Wachala – Sierra is a PhD student working on the ichthyoplankton and larval lobster surveys. Her research focuses on the impacts of the offshore wind farms, specifically to the planktonic and benthic communities. She got her B.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina in 2018, where she received the NOAA Hollings’ Scholarship in 2016. She also got her M.S. in Biology at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2022, where her research focused on the diet and community composition of the invasive bloody red shrimp, Hemimysis anomala. Her specialties are zooplankton and invasive species.
Digitizers:
Elsie Perry – Elsie has been a full-time digitizer in the Stokesbury lab since 2022. Elsie graduated from the University of Massachusetts with her degree in May 2022. She primarily works on the ventless trap and larval projects.