Director of Research & Education

 

 

 Mithriel M. MacKay

 

Degree: PhD Marine Biology

Education: Texas A&M University at Galveston

Residence: Tampa, FL

Citizenship: USA

Languages: English, Spanish

  

 

 

 

Education:

I received my Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology/clinical laboratory science from Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. My career path continued in medicine, including actively working as a paramedic and as an instructor of advance life support classes, for almost 30 years before I returned to graduate school where I earned my Master of Marine Resources Management. While finishing my PhD in Marine Biology, I established the Marine and Coastal Ecology Research Center in order to provide a place for students of marine science, biology, and ecology to participate in research gaining valuable field experience. The coastal center is also focused on outreach events, citizen science, and volunteer programs that provide curriculum to citizens interested in investigating marine flora, fauna, and ecosystems. 

 

Research Interest:

I am interested in behavioral ecology of cetaceans with a particular interest in social structures. My dissertation research focuses on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering off Puerto Rico, USA. Passive acoustic monitoring, photographic identification, photogrammetry, and theodolite tracking are among the methods I am using to characterize habitat, occupancy, and movement of whales. In addition to my dissertation research, I develop curriculum for programs studying the ecology of Puerto Rico, and life history of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Galveston-Houston ship channels.

 

 

Personal:

I am originally from Massachusetts where I spent much of my time exploring the marine and coastal environment as well as the woodland areas hiking, camping, and boating. In 1996 I moved my four children and two iguanas to the Texas Hill Country where the scenery changed but the excitement of investigating the ecology remained the same. After obtaining my PhD, I then relocated to the Tampa Bay area in Florida, where I take advantage of every bit of sunshine! My career path is beginning to satisfy the need to travel and explore the marine environment, while returning to Florida and Puerto Rico to spend time with my family.

 


Faculty

 

 

Nicole  Daigneault

 

Degree: Bachelor of Science, Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences

Education: Texas A&M University

Residence: Tampa, FL

Citizenship: USA

Language: English

 

 

 

 

Education: 

I am the proudest member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2005! I graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, specializing in vertebrate Zoology. 

 

Experience:

I have traveled to South Africa to study nature-based tourism, done fieldwork in Mississippi working with small herps, small mammals, and performing vegetation sampling, and been a chimpanzee caretaker at a sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas. I was also a Veterinary Technician for seven years - working with both small and large animals, as well as some exotics. More recently, I was a research associate for a company that provides marine mammal and protected species observers for marine construction, oil, and seismic companies. Currently, I am a GIS technician, as well as an active member on the Board of Directors for MCERC.   

 

Personal:

Growing up - it was hard for me to decide between herpetology and marine biology. Now I get to be involved in both! I have enjoyed working in many different areas in my field and like challenging myself and learning new skills.

 


 

 

Katharine Hart

 

Degree: Master of Science, Tropical Coastal Management

Education: University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Residence: Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands

Citizenship: UK

Language: English

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Holly Kelchner

 

Degree: Master of Science, Renewable Natural Resources

Education: Louisiana State University

Residence: Ann Arbor, MI

Citizenship: USA

Language: English 

 

 

 

 

Education:

I received my Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, AK in May 2017. I later received my Master of Science in Renewable Natural Resources with a minor in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University in May 2020. During my time at LSU, I spent a summer in Tofo, Mozambique, where I studied primary productivity and was the first to study the presence of a harmful biotoxin, domoic acid.

 

Teaching Experience:

During my final semester of undergraduate studies, I assisted in teaching a marine biology class at a local high school, where we articulated two juvenile killer whale skeletons, call the DEMBONES project. During graduate school, I was a graduate teaching assistant for various undergraduate courses at LSU, such as Intro to Natural Resource Conservation, Limnology, and a field-intensive course with topics in marine and coastal ecology. While living in Mozambique, I gave lectures to volunteers and university students on plankton ecology, marine debris, and marine megafauna conservation.

 

Research Interests:

I have a wide background of research interests. While living in Alaska, I became involved with many different opportunities, including working with crustaceans, seaweed mariculture, and marine mammals. I also designed an independent study course to study marine debris in Puerto Rico with MCERC, which I later continued in Juneau, AK. While in graduate school, I studied plankton ecology and harmful algal blooms. My work primarily focused on Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and domoic acid in Mozambique. I currently work for the University of Michigan, with the NOAA-Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory with the Harmful Algal Bloom team - monitoring the annual summer blooms of Microcystis and subsequent biotoxin production on Lake Erie.

 

Personal:

My city of origin is the Twin cities of Minnesota, however, I grew up with frequent visits to the east coast and the Great Lakes. I grew up camping every summer and loved to kayak with my family often, which further developed my appreciation for the environment. In my free time, I love to rock climb, kayak, bike, hike, and SCUBA dive. In the future, I hope to learn how to sail and surf. Eventually my goal is to sail around the world, learning about new cultures, languages, healthy food, and to spread my love for the oceans in any way that I can!

 


 

 

Heidi Malizia

 

Degree: Bachelor of Science, Biology 

Education: University of Missouri

Residence: Houston, TX

Citizenship: USA

Language: English

 

 

 

 

Education:

I attended the University of Missouri with a bachelor degree in biology, and a minor in captive wildlife management. I participated in a study abroad program in Queensland, Australia after my second year at U of M, where I developed and conducted three experiments involving the marine ecology along Australia’s east coast. After my study abroad, I was a fish and invertebrate intern at the aquarium in the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska where I enjoyed working with sharks and rays. Following graduation from university, I was a research assistant on the Bosphorus Dolphin Project in Istanbul, Turkey where I participated in surveys from land and boat platforms aimed at determining the impact of marine vessels in the Istanbul Strait on three cetacean species. 

 

Research Interests:

 

My interests focus on population abundance and behavioral ecology of protected marine species in the wild, specifically cetaceans, with an aim at conservation. My background includes experience in land, vessel, and aerial based cetacean surveys. I also enjoy conducting educational outreach with the public to spark interested in conservation of our oceans.

 

Personal:

Growing up in Missouri, it was strange for me to say I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grow up. I am happy that I never gave up on that dream. Throughout college and in the years since, I have had many amazing opportunities to study marine species in captive and natural environments all over the world, which has fueled my passion even further! I love being outdoors, especially in warm weather! I can spend hours on the beach snorkeling and SCUBA diving or days camping and hiking in the mountains. 

 


 

 

Heidi C. Pearson

 

Degree: PhD, Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences

Education: Texas A&M University

Residence: Juneau, Alaska

Citizenship: USA

Language: English

 

 

 

 

Education:

I received my Ph.D. in Wildife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University, and my B.S. from Duke University in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy and Biology. 

 

Research Interest:

I have been studying marine mammals for 15 years. My major research interests lie in applying behavioral ecological theory towards: 1) understanding the evolution of social, mating, and maternal strategies in marine mammals; 2) examining social convergence between cetaceans and primates; and 3) species conservation. My study species have included dusky dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, sea otters, lemurs, and colobus monkeys. My current research is focused on analyzing the effects of climate change and mussel farming on dusky dolphins in New Zealand, exploring potential evolutionary pathways towards social convergence between bottlenose dolphins and chimpanzees, and examining maternal strategies of humpback whales on the Alaskan feeding grounds. 

 

Teaching Interests:

Over the past 10 years, I have taught courses in biology, marine biology, ecology, and environmental studies at Drake University, Northeastern University, Texas A&M University, and Texas A&M University at Galveston. I am currently a Lecturer at Stony Brook University in New York. I particularly enjoy teaching courses in marine vertebrate biology and mentoring undergraduate students on independent study projects. 

  


 

 

Alistair "Ally" Sharp

  

Degree: Master of Science, Zoology

Education: Liverpool John Moores University

Residence: UK & South Africa (KwalaZulu Natal)

Citizenship: UK

Language: English

 

 

 

 

Education:

I am a graduate of Liverpool John Moores University with a Master's of Science in Zoology

 

Experience:

I am currently the founder and director of Adventure Ally Ltd., and have been lucky to have worked across Africa for over a decade on various conservation initiatives from the great white shark to the gorilla! Adventure Ally Ltd. offers a vast array of knowledge of the biodiversity and conservation projects that the amazing continent of Africa has to offer. My goal is to get people excited about conservation projects that positively impact the communities in the areas which they are based. 

 


 

 

Bradley Shead

  

Degree: Bachelor of Science, Marine Biology

Education: Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Residence: Galveston, TX

Citizenship: USA

Language: English

 

 

 

 

Education:

I am a graduate of Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. I graduated in December of 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology.

 

Experience:

Following graduation, I obtained a position at a local aquarium as a Biologist I, working my way up to Senior Biologist in 2004, and then Acting Curator of the facility from 2005 to 2008. Along the way, I acquired many skills in animal husbandry, acquisition, transport, disease diagnosis, and treatment for various species of animals. Following a brief career path change, I returned to my area of study in 2012 and took my knowledge of marine biology offshore as a consultant for various companies in oil, gas, and renewable energy (wind farms) to mitigate the impact of sound on protected species as a Protected Species Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Operator.

 

Personal:

My athletic scholarships as a baseball player allowed me to attend college starting in Houston, then on to Albuquerque, before finishing at A&M Corpus Christi. In order to keep my grades up, I needed to study something that greatly interested me, and I found great opportunities with the Marine Biology program in Corpus Christi. There were doubts from family and friends in the beginning, regarding my Marine Biology track, but I couldn't be more happy that I stuck with the program. Every trip out to sea, wherever that may be, is a new adventure - and I get to see some amazing things!

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