Alex Rocco

Bio

I am a PhD candidate in the Cao fisheries lab. The bulk of my research revolves around three projects, all involving the North Carolina blue crab stock: an individual-based model that simulates the effects of climate change and bioactive estrogen on blue crab, a mark-recapture study used to estimate growth and natural mortality for North Carolina’s blue crab stock assessment, and a species distribution model that uses fishery-independent survey data to evaluate habitat use by blue crab in southeastern North Carolina. I also am collaborating with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council on a citizen science project called FISHstory, in which citizen scientists analyze historic photos for important recreational fish species in order to establish historic baselines of effort, abundance, and catch. My future research goals revolve around using field- and lab-based approaches to establish life history metrics for important aquatic species, especially crustaceans and fishes, and using these life history metrics to develop novel individual-based modeling approaches for the purposes of risk assessment.