Current Lab Members

Dr. Aaron Carlisle, PI
Dr. Carlisle joined the University of Delaware in 2018 as Assistant Professor of Fisheries Ecology. His research focuses on how the abiotic and biotic environment and organismal biology interact to influence the behavior, distribution and ecology of species, and how these interactions impact their population dynamics, life history strategies, and ecosystem roles. He uses a variety of approaches and technologies, such as stable isotope analysis and biologging, combined in new ways to provide unique insights into marine species.

Dr. Carlisle is a graduate of Stanford University (Ph.D.), Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (M.S.), and Princeton University (A.B.). He is a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and is an active member of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES) and American Fisheries Society (AFS).
Tess Avery, M.S. Student
Tess is a M.S student working on research related to trophic ecology and diet using different chemical tracers. She received a B.A in Integrative Biology with a minor in Astrophysics from Harvard University in 2021, and worked as a Laboratory Technician on projects relating to functional morphology and biomechanics in elasmobranchs before arriving at the University of Delaware. Her M.S research project is developing an integrative tool kit for non-invasively assessing the diet of Sand Tiger Sharks in Delaware Bay using stable isotope analysis, fatty acids, and eDNA methods. 
 
Bethany Brodbeck, M.S. Student
Bethany received a B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of New England with a minor in Mathematics. During undergrad, she was able to partake in research projects including developing shark bycatch reduction devices as well as using trace elements in elasmobranch vertebrae as environmental tracers. Currently, she is an M.S. student working on the impacts of recreational fishing on local Delaware shark species. Specifically, Bethany is using accelerometry to determine post-release mortality rates as well as blood-physiology analysis to determine stress. 
Scott Goldberg, Ph.D. Student
Scott Goldberg is a Ph.D. student in the Carlisle lab studying how elasmobranch sensory biology impacts behavior, ecology, and conservation.  One of his major focuses is on how cables from offshore wind turbines might impact the abilities of electrosensitive marine fishes to navigate, find prey, and avoid predators.  He is also planning to investigate how the behavior of other locally important organisms, such as American Horseshoe Crabs, may be impacted by those cables.   
 
Scott has always been in love with the ocean, ever since family trips to the New Jersey shore as a child.  This passion would later morph into a career goal.  Scott received his bachelors in Biological Sciences (with a minor in history) from Northwestern University, where he studied why corals have varying susceptibility to bleaching.  Afterwards, he got his Masters in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, studying how corallivorous fishes impact corals recovering from bleaching
Andrea Leontiou, Ph.D. Student
Andrea received a BS in print journalism and marine affairs from the University of Miami.  She completed her MSc in marine science at Jacksonville University where she studied differences in stable isotope composition of otoliths from Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico King Mackerel populations. For her PhD, Andrea is validating and field testing a new method of collecting metabolic rate data from free-swimming sharks in Delaware Bay.
Benjamin Marsaly, Ph.D. Student
Ben received a M.S. in Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences jointly from Bordeaux Sciences Agro and AgroCampus Ouest (France) during which he studied the trophic ecology of the bull shark, blacktip shark and alligator gar in Texas estuaries. He also received a M.S. in Ecological Modeling from the University of Rennes, where he studied the movements of tiger and sicklefin lemon sharks in French Polynesia. For his PhD, Ben is investigating the spatial and trophic ecology of highly migratory coastal sharks in the Mid-Atlantic Bight using various techniques, including acoustic telemetry, stable isotope analysis, accelerometry, and longline survey.
Noah Motz, Ph.D. Student
More info coming soon.
Jerome Pinti, Postdoctoral Researcher
Jerome Pinti is a marine ecologist. He holds a MEng from Ecole Centrale Paris (France), a MSc in Aquatic Science and Technology from the Technical University of Denmark, and a PhD in marine ecology from the Technical University of Denmark as well. He is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher in both the TRASER and the ORB lab (Ocean exploration, Remote sensing, Biogeography -- PI Matt Oliver) at the University of Delaware. His main research interests are pelagic ecology, movement & behavioral ecology, and predator-prey interactions. His PhD thesis focused on diel vertical migration of zooplankton and fish, and their consequences for ecosystem functions. In particular, he quantified the amount of carbon sequestered by vertically migrating zooplankton and mesopelagic fish on a global scale. Now, his main project combines remote sensing, biologging, oceanographic modeling and big data analyses. He relates oceanographic variables (the environment) to movements and behaviors of animals, all in order to better understand the distribution of marine predators. He is also involved in a number of other projects, ranging from glider missions, to animal tag development, and to physiological investigations of the optimal vertical habitat for different fish species. 
Caroline Wiernicki, Ph.D. Student
I am a PhD student with a background in spatial ecology and fisheries science, and I have experience working with biotelemetry, bioacoustics, and numerical ocean models.  I am interested in investigating the biotic and abiotic drivers of fish movement and in applying information on these drivers towards dynamic ocean management practices.  I obtained a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in English from Duke University in 2016, and obtained a M.S. in Marine Estuarine Environmental Science from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in 2020.  My research project focuses on evaluating the abilities of various pelagic shark species to serve as biological ocean observing platforms, with the objective of applying high resolution temperature data collected by these animals to better inform hurricane prediction models.  I am also interested in exploring the physiological and behavioral roles of endothermy in how coastal sharks navigate thermally stratified habitats in the Mid-Atlantic Bight.
Richard Wong, Ph.D. Student
Rich received a B.S. in Fishery Science and Natural Resources Management from Rutgers University and a M.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Delaware. He studies the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of marine fishes, crustaceans, bivalves, and gastropods as a fishery scientist at the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife.  For his Ph.D. studies, Rich is investigating the life history characteristics and ecology of the knobbed whelk (Busycon carica).

Lab Alumni

Graduate Students

Maria Sabando Plaza, M.S., 2023. Sublethal Effects of Methylmercury on the Physiology of a Small, Coastal Elasmobranch, the Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus canis)
Jarius Bradley, M.S., 2023. Understanding patterns of residency and space use of Arctic Skates (Amblyraja hyperborea) in Scott Inlet, Canada, to inform indigenous fisheries.
Devon Scott, M.S., 2023. Simultaneous selachians: characterizing the ecological roles of apex predators in Delaware Bay, USA.
Currently a Fisheries Biologist at Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
Haley Oleynik, M.S. 2020. Changes in a mid-Atlantic Estuary: Trends and Drivers of the Fish and Macroinvertebrate Community in Delaware Bay. Currently a PhD student at University of British Columbia (https://oceans.ubc.ca/haley-oleynik/)

Undergraduate Students

Kaia Klotzbucher, University of Delaware, 2023
Morgan Nolan, University of Delaware, 2023
Andrew Mulligan, University of Delaware, 2022
Paige Aldred, University of Delaware, 2022
Hannah Sarmir, University of Delaware, 2022
MaryAnn Coughlin, University of Delaware, 2022
Caroline Bowers, University of Delaware, 2022
Ashley O’Neill, University of Delaware, 2022
Catherine Czjacka, University of Delaware, 2021
Sophie Malenfant, University of Delaware, 2021
Serena Bandlow, Fall 2021-2022
Zeal Goolesby, Fall 2021
Taylor McDermot, Fall 2021
Timothy Smoot, Fall 2021
Nick Whaley, Fall 2021
Hayden Bessette, Fall 2020, Spring 2021
Katie Buell-Fleming, Fall 2020, Spring 2021
Daniel Millea Fall 2020, Spring 2021
Luke Harris, Fall 2020
Normal McCarthy, Fall 2019
Ariel Plotnick, Fall 2019
Kathryn Sloane, Fall 2018
Emily Wilkins, Fall 2018

Summer Scholars

Caroline Bowers, 2022
Alex Rubin, 2021
Rachel Roday, 2019
Nicole Steplewski, 2019

NSF REU Students

Ashlia Toles, Bowling Green University, 2022
James Mecca, Moravian College, 2021
Danielle Arias, Sul Ross State University, 2020
Devon Scott, Stockton University, 2019
Kelsey Ward, Stockton University, 2018

Technicians

Kathryn Sloane, Laboratory Technician, 2019