Education

Ph.D., Marine Biology, University of Maine (2015)

Research Interests

My research is in the general area of quantitative fisheries ecology with an emphasis on population dynamics and ecosystem modeling. I am most interested in ecologically motivated and statistically innovative research that may improve science-based natural resource management. Specifically, I evaluate and develop quantitative techniques for assessing the past and current status of fish and invertebrate populations. This includes optimizing sampling schemes; developing more biologically realistic assessment models; estimating biological processes that vary over space and time; evaluating management strategies; and exploring how to manage marine populations in the face of climate change. The results are used to inform management decision making in US and international marine management bodies. As such, I work closely with state, federal and international natural resource agencies.

Selected Publications

Cao J, Thorson J, Richards A, Chen Y. Spatio-temporal index standardization improves the stock assessment of northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017.

Cao J, Chen Y, Richards A. Improving assessment of Pandalus stocks using a seasonal, size-structured assessment model with environmental variables: Part I: Model description and application. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017, 74(3): 349-362.

Cao J, Chen Y, Richards A. Improving assessment of Pandalus stocks using a seasonal, size-structured assessment model with environmental variables: Part II: Model evaluation and simulation. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017, 74(3) 363-376.

Li G, Cao J, Zou X, et al. Modeling habitat suitability index for Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) in the South East Pacific. Fisheries Research, 2016, 178: 47-60.

Li B, Cao J, Chang JH, et al. Evaluation of effectiveness of fixed-station sampling for monitoring American lobster settlement. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 2015, 35(5): 942-957.

Cao J, Chen XJ, Tian SQ. Bayesian hierarchical DeLury model for stock assessment of west winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in northwest Pacific Ocean. Bulletin of Marine Science, 2014, 91(1): 1-13.

Cao J, Chen Y, Chang JH, et al. An evaluation of an inshore bottom trawl survey design for American lobster (Homarus americannus) using computer simulations. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, 2014, 46: 27-39.

Cao J, Truesdell S, Chen Y. Impacts of seasonal stock mixing on the assessment of Atlantic cod in the Gulf of Maine. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2014, 71(6): 1443-1457.

Guan WJ, Cao J, Chen Y, et al. Impacts of population and fishery spatial structures on fishery stock assessment. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2013, 70 (8): 1178-1189.

Cao J, Chen XJ, Chen Y. Influence of surface oceanographic variability on abundance of the western winter-spring stock of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2009, 381: 119-127.