IWFA SCHOLARSHIP TRUST
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS' RESEARCH PROJECTS

Emily Bjornsgard:

"Emily Bjornsgard is a first year MS student at Western Washington University in the Marine and Estuarine Program under the Biology Department. She is studying the early life history of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) and surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus), two forage fish species of ecological and economic importance to the inland Salish Sea and greater northeast Pacific Ocean. Forage fish are a crucial link between the seasonal microscopic biomass of the spring plankton bloom and larger animals like salmon and marine mammals. 

She is incredibly grateful for your support!"

Ethan Rothchild:

"Due to anthropogenic actions, corals are dying at an unprecedented rate. Largely, this is due to increased temperatures causing corals to expel their symbiotic microalgae that provide nutrients to the corals. My research aims to use experimental evolution to engineer thermally resistant strains of symbiotic microalgae that could allow reef-building corals to not only persist in the face of climate change, but to restore damaged reefs to their former productivity."

Jasmine Nyce

"My dissertation examines the southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma), a species of ecological, economic, and cultural significance whose spawning stock biomass in Texas has declined by more than 70% over the past four decades. Despite this decline, key knowledge gaps remain in its contemporary trophic ecology and contaminant exposure in South Texas, particularly microplastics and mercury. To address these gaps, I integrate stomach content, stable isotope, and contaminant analyses across a large dataset (>700 individuals) to advance understanding of feeding ecology and pollutant exposure in South Texas populations."

Leah Nelson

"I am a third-year PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I study coastal and estuarine ecology with a focus on the invasive macroalga Gracilaria vermiculophylla. My research explores how environmental change such as species invasions, nutrient loading, and rising temperatures shape coastal ecosystems. My work integrates field surveys, lab experiments, and molecular techniques to better understand how estuarine systems respond to ecological stressors."

Lindsay Graffiti

"My PhD research quantifies the effects of recreational rod and reel capture on post release behavior and survivorship of three prohibited shark species in the New York Bight, white, dusky, and sand tiger sharks. By integrating blood based physiological indicators of capture stress with satellite telemetry, I evaluate how fight time, handling, and release conditions influence their recovery and post release behavior. This work is designed to improve science-based management and handling guidance for prohibited shark species while supporting conservation within the recreational fishery."

Mary Williams:

"I am a fifth year PhD candidate in the Crustomics lab at Florida International University. My research examines how coral reef ecosystems are shifting toward sponge/ algal dominance and the implications for biodiversity and ecosystem function. By leveraging sponge-derived environmental DNA (eDNA), I am developing complementary approaches to traditional biodiversity sampling for more effective reef monitoring. My work contributes to advancing tools for detecting ecological change and supporting conservation and management of coral reefs in the Florida Keys.I am grateful for the support from IWFA and honored to be a part of this community.” 

Max Murray:

 "Over the last decade, populations of the ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) across North America's Pacific coast have been decimated by Sea Star Wasting Disease, a mysterious epidemic caused by a Vibrio bacterium. The ochre star is the keystone species in the rocky intertidal ecosystem, and its absence has led to cascading negative effects on other intertidal organisms. My research uses microbial sequencing data to examine how ochre star surface microbiomes shift as a response to environmental changes and how these shifts may affect disease susceptibility of the stars. I hope to identify natural microbial mechanisms that protect the star from disease and to explore how they can be stimulated as a conservation effort.” 

Meredith Moore:

"Meredith is a master's student at Clemson University studying how coral–algal partnerships shift in restored boulder corals throughout the middle Florida Keys. Her work involves characterizing these tiny symbionts across the full restoration journey, revealing how their changing dynamics shape coral health, stress tolerance, and long-term resilience. By linking the biology of these microscopic partners to the future of reef recovery, she aims to strengthen and support ongoing restoration efforts across Florida’s reefs."

Natale Wride:

"As a Master’s student at the University of the Virgin Islands, I am working on my thesis to evaluate scallop species and growth parameters in the United States Virgin Islands to assess the feasibility of scallop aquaculture. My research will use aquaculture methods to assess the effects of environmental parameters on scallop presence, health, and growth. The implementation of a sustainable aquaculture industry in the USVI will stimulate economic growth, promote sustainable farming practices, and increase conservation of local marine species.” 

Nicole Fox:

“As fisheries management continues to shift towards an ecosystem-based approach, diet analysis plays a pivotal role in understanding the interactions relied upon by managed finfish species. My PhD research investigates foraging habitat preferences, underlying spatial and temporal drivers of diet composition, and varying rates of digestion between prey types in commercially and recreationally harvested finfish in New Jersey, specifically black sea bass and summer flounder. This work will strengthen the context of visual gut content analysis in fisheries management and aims to provide further ecological insight into two prominent New Jersey species.”

Samantha Hamilton:

"Samantha is a University of Michigan PhD student whose dissertation focuses on sea otter conservation in Japan. Through her research on foraging ecology and stakeholder attitudes, she aims to promote human-sea otter coexistence in coastal communities where the marine predator is recovering after a century-long extirpation.”

Sherly Hernandez:

“Microbiomes mediate key processes in both seagrass ecosystems and megaherbivore digestion, for example, by enhancing invasive seagrass establishment and aiding plant material degradation in the gut, yet their connectivity across trophic levels under biological invasion is unresolved. My PhD research project will assess microbial community composition (16S/ITS gene sequencing) and functional potential (shotgun metagenomics) of seagrass tissues and Caribbean manatee gut microbiomes across distinct habitats in Puerto Rico, linking these data to diet composition derived from seagrass DNA barcoding. By coupling primary producer and consumer associated microbial communities across habitats, our results will improve our understanding of how microbial processes shape ecosystem dynamics in changing environments.”

Sunni Patton:

 "My work seeks to understand how the microbiome plays a role in disease resistance, resilience, and susceptibility in the critically endangered Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. Specific A. cervicornis genetic variants are highly susceptible to disease and their microbiomes are overwhelmingly dominated by an intracellular, parasitic bacterium that siphons energy from the host. One of my research goals is to uncover mechanisms of transmission for this bacterium in order to inform intervention strategies to reduce this bacterium's abundance and prevalence in the microbiome."

Tanner Lee:

"Some sea slugs possess a remarkable ability called kleptoplasty where they steal chloroplasts from algae and maintain them in a functional state for extended periods. My research uses photosynthetic performance metrics, fluorescent imaging, and transcriptomics to uncover the cellular mechanisms that enable this extraordinary process."