{"id":562,"date":"2021-07-08T15:54:05","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/fishecology\/?page_id=562"},"modified":"2026-01-07T07:51:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:51:50","slug":"our-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/fishecology\/our-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChrisChris Stallings <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Principal Investigator<\/span><\/p>\n

Predation, Food Webs, Habitat<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Email: stallings@usf.edu<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Chris focuses on basic concepts in ecology, yet includes a strong applied component to inform marine conservation and management efforts. Broadly, his research examines the ecological processes that drive population and community dynamics of marine organisms. Therefore, much of his research is field-intensive and involves both experimental and large-scale observational approaches. Chris also incorporates an extensive laboratory component into his studies through mesocosm experiments and use of stable isotope analyses, and explores large datasets, using multivariate statistics and GIS to reveal broad-scale ecological patterns that may be further explored through focused regional field studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AliciaGraceAliciaGrace Marley<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lab Manager<\/span><\/p>\n

Email: aliciagrace@usf.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Alicia first explored marine science during her Bachelor\u2019s degree in Biology and Geography from the University of St. Andrews. For her senior thesis, she researched blue carbon storage in salt marshes as a nature-based solution to climate change. This work, along with formative visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and weekends spent tide pooling growing up in California, attracted Alicia to pursue a career in marine science. She earned her Master\u2019s of Professional Science in Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management from the University of Miami before joining the Fish Ecology Lab. As Lab Manager, Alicia primarily coordinates fieldwork, repairs instruments and equipment, and supports data collection and analysis for ongoing projects.<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

 
\n\"KennedyKennedy Quillen
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Student<\/span><\/p>\n

Crypsis, Biodiversity, Food Webs<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Email: quillen@usf.edu<\/a> | <\/span>Website: https:\/\/linktr.ee\/CrypticFishes<\/a>\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Kennedy is originally from West Virginia, but her passion for the ocean led her to pursue a B.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University. There, she contributed to research on coastal beach erosion and artificial reef ecology. She also participated in an REU at the University of Maryland, where she investigated the trophic ecology of mysid shrimp in Chesapeake Bay. Kennedy\u2019s doctoral research at the University of South Florida focuses on marine organisms that use crypsis (a form of concealment similar to camouflage) and the effects of seagrass loss on their biodiversity and trophic dynamics. By integrating field surveys and stable isotope analyses, she investigates how cryptofauna respond to changing coastal environments. Upon completing her Ph.D., she aims to apply her expertise to advancing research on crypsis ecology across a range of marine environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"JessicaJessica Sklar<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Student<\/span><\/p>\n

Email: jsklar@usf.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jessica is a second year PhD student at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science. Originally from Southern California and raised near the beach, Jessica\u2019s passion for the ocean developed at a young age. Jessica graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a BS in Biology, where she contributed to research projects focusing on the effects of microplastics in zebrafish and the non-consumptive effects of chemical cues on the grazing rates of two herbivorous species in the Carribean. As a PhD student, she hopes to research predator-prey interactions of reef fish species.<\/span>
\n 
\n 
\n <\/p>\n

\"\"Fredrik Stengard<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. Student<\/span>
\nAquaculture, Mariponics, Sustainable Seafood<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Email: Fjstengard@usf.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Fredrik, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, and raised in Florida, earned his Bachelor\u2019s degrees in Zoology and in Resource Conservation at the University of Florida along with a minor in Wildlife Ecology. While working at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institute (FWCC) in St. Petersburg, he then earned his Master\u2019s degree from USF where he studied the systematics of Gadiform fishes. As a doctoral student at USF, his research focuses on marine aquaculture and aquaponics. Specifically, he is looking at the potential for commercially viable land-based integrated multitrophic aquaculture systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"JessicaJessica Van Vaerenbergh<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

MS Student<\/span><\/p>\n

Reef Fish Ecology, Artificial Reefs, Trophic Structure<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Email: jvanvaerenbergh@usf.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Jessica was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, where she spent many days exploring the marine environment and cultivating her passion for the ocean. She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in Marine Science and a minor in Leadership at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. Her thesis research focuses on using diver survey data to investigate how trophic structure varies between artificial and natural reefs across two temporal scales\u2014year and season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Stallings Principal Investigator Predation, Food Webs, Habitat Email: stallings@usf.edu \u00a0\u00a0 Chris focuses on basic concepts in ecology, yet includes a strong applied component to inform marine conservation and management efforts. Broadly, his research examines the ecological processes that drive population and community dynamics of marine organisms. Therefore, much of his research is field-intensive and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-fullwidth.php","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-562","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Team - Fish Ecology Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/fishecology\/our-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Team - Fish Ecology Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Stallings Principal Investigator Predation, Food Webs, Habitat Email: stallings@usf.edu \u00a0\u00a0 Chris focuses on basic concepts in ecology, yet includes a strong applied component to inform marine conservation and management efforts. 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