As the daughter of a scallop fisherman, the Ocean and its resources have always been incredibly important to the lives and livelihood of my family and me. Growing up with such an intimate connection to the Ocean, I developed an early interest in the reciprocal relationship between humans and the marine environment. How do humans alter the structure, function, and health of natural ecosystems? How do those alterations influence the goods and services those ecosystems provide to people? I am broadly interested in examining fisheries and the food webs that support them. As the current Graduate Assistant for the Graduate School of Oceanography Fish Trawl Survey, I am a part of a 59+ year survey of the bottom fish and invertebrate community in Narragansett Bay. For my thesis, I will be using molecular isotope geochemistry tools to explore the food web structure supporting iconic cod populations in Southern New England. I am trying to unravel the paradox of why this population appears to be growing despite occupying very warm waters that should make this species thermally stressed. More broadly, I have a passion for protecting the marine environment and enjoy sharing my passion with others through outreach and education. Prior to matriculating to GSO, I served as a Commonwealth Corps Environmental Educator at the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use and enjoyment of Buzzards Bay and its watershed. We worked to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem by restoring clean water, protecting watershed lands, and engaging the community in science outreach.

Education:

B.S. Biology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2016

M.S. Biological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, projected in 2020

Contact Information:

Nina Santos

M.S. Candidate

Graduate School of Oceanography

University of Rhode Island

Narragansett, RI 02882

E-mail: nrsafoontos@uri.edu