The Trophic and Spatial Ecology Research (TRASER) Lab at the University of Delaware studies how ecology, physiology, and the environment interact to influence the distribution, behavior, life history strategies, and ecosystem roles of marine and estuarine organisms. Or, simply put, why animals are where they are, go where they go, and do what they do.

We do research that addresses fundamental questions in biology and ecology that also has an applied component that can help manage and conserve species and ecosystems in an ocean that is rapidly changing due to human activity and climate change.

Our research focuses largely on fish and elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays), and we employ a variety of research techniques, including chemical tracers (stable isotope analysis), biologging (electronic tagging), and various modeling approaches.