Graduate Student Alumni

The North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve is proud to have supported the following fellowship recipients. 

NOAA Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship

Daniel Bowling (2022) North Carolina State University. Assessing the effectiveness of using remote sensing to monitor intertidal oyster habitat: working to develop methods for a fishery-independent survey program for oysters in North Carolina.

Marae Lindquist West (2020) University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Predicting marsh bird population response to sea level rise: providing information for management decisions and a framework for other marsh species. 

N.C. Coastal Reserve - N.C. Sea Grant Coastal Research Fellowship

Madison Lytle (2022) University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Evaluating reduced water clarity’s influence on seagrass (Halodule wrightii) growth. 

Read more about her fellowship here.

Andrew McMains (2022) East Carolina University. The effects of dredging on inlet-inhabiting fish.

Read more about his fellowship here.

Mollie Yacano (2021) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Phragmites australis eradication effects nitrogen processing in NC Coastal Reserves.

Aaron Ramus (2020) University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Indirect effects of an invasive seaweed on the production of an estuarine shellfishery.

Sarah Donaher (2019) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Evaluating the ability of bivalve facilitation to enhance seagrass bed restoration.

Christopher Moore (2018) East Carolina University. Parasites as Novel Indicators of Biodiversity in Restored Coastal Habitats.

Robert Snowden (2017) University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The effects of temperature and disturbance on the incubation behavior of beach-nesting Least Terns (Sternula antillarum).

Danielle Keller (2016) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. How Does Seasonality of Seagrass Species Affect the Habitat-Use of Nekton Communities in a North Carolina Estuary?

Jill Arriola (2015) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rising seas: How will North Carolina coastal systems adapt to sea level rise?

Seth Theuerkauf (2015) North Carolina State University. Quantifying the Impact of an Invasive Species on Ecosystem Service Provision: Applications for Phragmites australis Management in the NC Coastal Reserve System.

Shannon Brown (2014) North Carolina State University. Estuarine Soundscapes: Spatiotemporal Patterns of Biological and Anthropogenic Sounds in a North Carolina Reserve and Implications for Conservation in the Rachel Carson Reserve.

Justin Ridge (2014) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Landscape Connectivity Influences Growth and Accretion in Temperate Biogenic Reefs and Adjacent Salt Marshes in the Rachel Carson Reserve.

Margaret Garner (2013) East Carolina University. Synthesis of High and Low Marsh Habitat Mapping, Vulnerability and Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Rachel Carson Reserve.

Theresa O’Meara (2012) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Changes in denitrification rate from the maritime forest to the shallow sub-tidal in natural and restored systems at Rachel Carson and Currituck Banks.

Michelle Brodeur (2011) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Phase II: Managing intertidal oyster reefs in a changing climate: how macroalgal cover affects reef dynamics within the Rachel Carson Reserve. 

Kristen Hall (2010) University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Analysis of Geomorphologic Evolution of Masonboro Island, NC.

NERRS Graduate Research Fellowships

Michelle Brodeur (2011) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Phase I: Managing intertidal oyster reefs in a changing climate: how macroalgal cover affects reef dynamics within the Rachel Carson Reserve.

Rachel Gittman (2011) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The effects of shoreline hardening and SLR on the role of saltmarsh ecosystem engineers: implications for saltmarsh ecosystem function in N.C.

Nate Geraldi (2009) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Unexpected consequences of shoreline hardening: the emergent effects of invasive species on biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Ginger Winder (2008) University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Mercury (Hg) levels in feathers and blood of two species (Ammodramus nelsoni and A. caudacutus) of coastal sparrows from over-wintering and breeding sites.

Elizabeth Saunders (2007) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Determining the Invasion Potential for the harmful blue-green alga (cyanobacterium) Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii at the Currituck Banks NERRS Site, North Carolina.

Angela Coulliette (2006) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Characterization and source identification of microbial contaminants in North Carolina estuarine waters.

David Love (2006) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Microbial source tracking viral indicators of fecal contamination in shellfish and estuarine water.

Jocelyn Ann Romano (2004) Duke University. Impact of non-point source contaminants on reproductive development and capacity of invertebrates in the North Carolina Reserve.

Jason Gregor (2003) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Use of modern molecular techniques for monitoring and assessing estuarine water quality.

Eileen Vandenburgh (2001) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. An empirical test of the influence of increased spawning stock biomass of Mercernaria mercenaria in harvest refugia on spatially explicit recruitment patterns.

Monica Dozier (2000) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The role of estuarine reserves in sustaining fisheries: recruitment, growth, and habitat utilization of red drum in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve, North Carolina.

Jonathan Grabowski (1997) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Evaluation of the effectiveness of restoring intertidal oyster reef habitat: an integrated approach. 

Johnny Lancaster (1997) University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Environmental controls of short temporal fish movements in an estuarine creek.