Research

Microplastics and Plastic Marine Debris

Plastic pollution is a growing concern regionally, nationally, and internationally. We are studying this issue in Delaware Bay and the mid-Atlantic region, using laboratory experiments, field studies (boats, drones, satellites), and numerical modeling.

Blue crab reproduction and population dynamics

Blue crabs are an economically and culturally important species in the eastern and southern United States. We are studying the reproductive capacity of blue crabs in Delaware Bay, and incorporating this into a bioeconomic model to understand how environmental and anthropogenic pressures affect the fishery.

Hydrothermal vent shrimp vision and bioluminescence

Vision in the deep ocean requires extreme adaptations to allow for light detection, and hydrothermal vent shrimp possess some of the most unusual eyes on the planet. We are studying how these eyes function, and what vent shrimp might be looking at over 3000 feet below the ocean surface.

Light and life in the Arctic Polar Night

At high latitudes, the sun remains below the horizon for up to half the year. However, small amounts of light remain, and animals are capable of seeing this light. We are studying these processes, and how artificial light is impacting them.

Delaware Bay zooplankton (DelZoop2)

Zooplankton were last surveyed throughout the Delaware Bay in the 1950s. We have recently repeated this work to understand how environmental changes in the Delaware Bay have altered this key part of the food web.