Meet the Team
MERL Principal Investigator
Dr. Elizabeth 'Z' Lacey
Associate Professor, Marine Science
Email | Virtual CV
Dr. Elizabeth 'Z' Lacey
Education:
Ph.D. Florida International University
M.S. Nova Southeastern University
B.S. University of North Carolina at Wilmington
I am a marine ecologist interested in holistically studying marine plant communities, which means investigating both living and nonliving components, how those components interact, and how those interactions influence ecosystem functioning. Marine plant communities include both macroalgae, or seaweed, and seagrassses or submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). These important primary producers form the base of the aquatic food web and influence ecologically and economically important coastal communities through functions such as shoreline protection and habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish. Recent disturbances and impacts have caused declines in SAV and increases in macroalgal communities, which have lasting impacts on marine ecosystems. My aim is to understand the effects of these stressors on ecosystem dynamics such as decline, recovery, and resilience, and use this knowledge to communicate viable protection and enhancement strategies for resource management agencies and policy makers. Stockton University is a liberal arts university, which means to achieve these goals my focus is on undergraduate research training. Student research assistants play an integral role in completing all field and laboratory work.
Current MERL Rangers
Ceara Reilly, Erin O'Brien, Michelle Gutierrez, Meredith O'Donnell 2023
Projects: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program, DEP Dual Habitat Program, SAV Mapping Field Verification Team
Funding: Barnegat Bay Partnership, DEP Water Quality
Brianna Gutierrez, Erin O'Brien, Darby Brant, Kersten Axe 2022
Projects: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program, DEP Dual Habitat Program
Funding:DEP Water Quality
MERL Ranger Alumni
Delaney LaPollo, Alex Sellitsch, Matt Leason, Emily Zembricki, Audra McFarland, Elysia
Lazzaro, Brianna Gutierrez, Tara Misiura, and Forrest Jennings
2021
Projects: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program and DEP Dual Habitat Program
Funding: Barnegat Bay Partnership, DEP Water Quality
Charlotte Leon
Professional Science Master’s Student in Environmental Studies, 2021
Project: Soil Properties as Determinants of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Presence and Absence
Dani Dyson
2019 - 2020
Project: Climate impacts to temperate submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) communities
Isabelle Zoccolo
2019 - 2020
Project: Diplomacy Lab - Sargassum in the Eastern Caribbean and its Impact on the Blue Economy
Dani Dyson, Allie Hoffman, Faelyn Meyers
2018 - 2019
Project: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
Funding: Barnegat Bay Partnership
Chloe Graham-Frock
2019
Project: Seagrass community response to environmental stressors in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
Michael Lindner, Ryan Henry, Evan Woerner
2017 - 2018
Project: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
Kristina Koreivo
2017
Project: Competitive Interactions between Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima via in situ studies in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
Nicole Ertle, Heather Coulson, Kristina Koreivo, Patty McHugh, Emily Peraria, Isabelle
Zoccolo (not pictured)
2016-2017
Project: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
Funding: Barnegat Bay Partnership
Sean Lynch, Sam Tomkowich, Kelsie Lupinetti
2015-2016
Project: Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
Apryle Panyi
2014-2015; 2015-2016
Project: Population demographics and tube repair rates of the magnificent feather duster worm, Sabellastarte magnifica, on two coral reefs in Bocas del Toro, Panama
Funding: Board of Trustees Fellowship
My field course:
blog:apanyipanamajournal.wordpress.com
Morgan Pedrick
2014-2015; 2015-2016
Project:Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
Funding: Stacy Moore Hagan Internship
Allison Lord
2014-2015; 2015-2016
Project: Oyster reefs as habitat in southern Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
Funding: Save Barnegat Bay Student Research Grant
Stefan Haller
2014-2015
Project:Barnegat Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program
