Team

Dr. W. Ryan James

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ryan is an interdisciplinary scientist interested in understanding the drivers of ecosystems at multiple scales. He has developed expert knowledge of Gulf coast estuarine ecosystems, receiving his B.S. in Biology at the University of Alabama and M.S. at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He went on to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Lafayette, titled "A Seascape Approach to Understanding Coastal Food Web Dynamics and Species Distributions" under advisor Dr. James Nelson, who is also a collaborator with the lab. His research takes an integrative approach asking questions across multiple scales to understand the response of biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystem function to spatial variability in biotic and abiotic factors and future change to inform effective conservation strategies.

email: wjames@fiu.edu

Dr. Jonathan Rodemann

Postdoctoral Scholar

Jon is a seascape and movement ecologist focusing on the impacts of disturbances on multi-scale processes such as recovery and habitat selection. He obtained his B.S. in Marine Science and Biology from the University of Miami, and subsequently attended a non-thesis based Master’s program at Northeastern University called the Three Seas Program, spending time in Boston, Panama, and Washington state learning about the marine ecosystems of the regions. This program ended with an internship with the Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network looking at the variation in marine consumption pressure along a latitudinal gradient. He then transitioned back down to south Florida, to complete his Ph.D. at FIU in the Coastal Fisheries Lab. Currently, his research uses multiple approaches such as remote sensing, acoustic telemetry, and causal modelling to understand the impacts of press (lack of freshwater inflow) and pulse (seagrass die-off and hurricanes) disturbances on the Florida Bay ecosystem. Whether it is investigating the sources of nutrients driving persistent algal blooms or mapping seagrass with satellites to determine preferred habitat of Spotted Seatrout, the goal of Jon’s research is to inform Everglades conservation, management, and restoration.

email: jrodeman@fiu.edu

Nicolas Rivas

Ph.d. Candidate

Nico is an ecologist from Chile with an M.S. in Marine Biology and Ecology, currently working on his doctorate’s degree in the Santos Seascape Ecology Lab. Nico completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He then completed a master’s degree at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science with a concentration in coral restoration, under the guidance of Dr. Diego Lirman. His M.S. focused on protecting coral outplants from corallivorous fish. Now, he works on reefs in Culebra, Puerto Rico and is involved in restoration and monitoring projects that use novel techniques like 3D printing and photogrammetry to assess coral reef states.

email: nirivas@fiu.edu

Gina Badlowski

Ph.d. Student

Gina, a third-year PhD student, is a budding marine ecologist interested in trophic food web dynamics across seagrass-reef ecosystems. Her work primarily occurs in south Florida, specifically in Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and the Florida Keys. She uses stable isotope analysis and metabarcoding tools to elucidate the energy flows and species interactions within seagrass-reef ecosystems, which provides insights into their trophic connectivity and responses to environmental changes. Gina received her bachelor’s degree in Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy and a minor in GIS from Monmouth University, where she first got involved in research evaluating the demographics and post-release movements of sharks captured in the recreational land-based surf fishery in the Dunton Lab. She went on to complete her master’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of New Orleans in the Fish Morphology and Behavior Lab, where she completed her thesis entitled “Repeated boat noise exposure damages inner ear sensory hair cells and decreases hearing sensitivity in Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus).” Gina loves fieldwork and helping out fellow students where she can, including making maps! She also takes pride in mentoring and is currently serving as FIU’s Marine Science Program’s Marine Biology Advisor for Undergraduates on top of mentoring multiple volunteers who help with the processing of her dissertation samples.

email: gbadlows@fiu.edu

Marine Biology Advisor email: mbioadv@fiu.edu

Marianna Coppola

Ph.D. Student

Marianna is a seascape ecologist with a focus on seagrass dynamics. She applies remote sensing principles to elucidate seagrass spatial patterns, and how these patterns change across multiple spatiotemporal scales in the Florida Keys and in Biscayne Bay.

email: mcoppola@fiu.edu

Hannah-Marie Lamle

Ph.D. Student

Hannah-Marie spent the first two decades of her life in Northern Indiana, spending every day of the summer on the lake catching turtles, ID'ing seaweeds, and also wakeboarding and surfing. She went on to Indiana University for her B.S. in environmental science, and became heavily involved in the Center for Underwater Science. There she specialized in monitoring coral recruitment on shipwreck sites in the Dominican Republic. She spent a year after graduating as a visiting lecturer and research associate, where she taught the open water scuba classes and assisted with monitoring of the critically endangered pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus. She has transitioned to FIU for a Ph.D. in biology and is focusing her dissertation on understanding how environmental gradients impact coral community niche space, facilitating inter and intraspecific variation in species. Specifically, she is focused on how select physiological traits converge to create a spectral signature. She hopes to use hyperspectral imaging to detect changes in spectra intensity and relate that back to individual traits, creating a new, noninvasive measure of coral health.

email: hlamle@fiu.edu

Valentina Bautista

M.S. Student

Valentina is an ecologist from Colombia, holding dual degrees in Environmental Studies (B.S.) and Sustainability (B.A.) from Florida International University. During her undergraduate studies, she gained valuable experience as an intern and later as a research technician in our sister lab, the Rehage Lab, where she contributed to projects focused on coastal Everglades ecology. In 2022, Valentina joined the Santos Lab to pursue a master's in biology, with a research focus on applying functional ecology to quantify changes in Puerto Rican marine benthic communities and their implications for ecosystem function. As a graduate student, Valentina actively participates in scientific diving operations, aiding critical research across South Florida and Puerto Rico.

email: vbaut001@fiu.edu

Victoria Goldner

Lab Manager

Victoria currently serves as lab manager for both the Santos Seascape Ecology Lab and our sister lab, the Rehage Coastal Fisheries Lab.

Victoria is a Florida native who received her bachelor’s degree in marine biology from New College of Florida, where she developed a passion for acoustic telemetry through her undergraduate honors thesis research on blacktip shark migration patterns over time and their relationship with climate change. In addition to being a PADI certified divemaster, she has a background in animal husbandry and science communications & outreach. Over time, she has worked in the Everglades, Biscayne National Park, the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, the Tampa Bay area, and Culebra, Puerto Rico, and her favorite animal she’s had the opportunity to work with is a smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). In addition to supporting the labs in all their day-to-day operations, she has been involved in nearly every project our labs have to offer. Overall, she loves the new experiences and learning opportunities she has been exposed to as the result of her work, and strives to never stop developing new skills. In the future, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree and continue working with movement ecology.

email: vgoldner@fiu.edu

Christine Nation

Lab Technician

Christine is a biologist from Venezuela, with an M.P.S. in Fisheries Management and Conservation, currently serving as the Santos Lab technician. Before moving to Miami to pursue her M.P.S. at the University of Miami, she lived in Colombia. During her studies, she completed her M.P.S. internship report with the Santos Lab and continued working there after graduating. Christine is dedicated to supporting the team and assisting students with their research projects. She has been involved in conservation efforts in Culebra, Puerto Rico, where she analyzes BRUVs data to study reef fish abundance and participates in fieldwork for BRUV setup and deployment. She is currently using BRUVs data to study the abundance of target snapper and grouper species across different habitat complexities. Christine also assists with calibrating coral reef photomosaics using Viscore and outlining the reef’s macroalgal cover. In the lab, she helps process stable isotopes from various samples, including seagrass, algae, invertebrates, and fish, for food web ecology.

email: cnationg@fiu.edu