Carrie Byron

Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Science
vita

Carrie comes to URI with an interest in fisheries and aquaculture and is currently examining ecological carrying capacity for shellfish in Rhode Island waters. Carrie has a breadth of ecological research experiences in a variety of systems: North temperate lakes, temperate North Pacific bays, tropical South Pacific reefs, and New England intertidal. She was first introduced to ecological research as an undergrad at University of Wisconsin-Madison where she spent her summers in the North Temperate Lakes region of northern Wisconsin as a research assistant studying the impacts of an invasive crayfish on lake plants. She then transitioned into marine systems comparing crab larvae sampling techniques in southeast Alaska. Carrie spent two years in the Philippines working with a non-governmental agency as a Peace Corps Volunteer where she lived and worked in a local fishing village. She assisted her Filipino community in establishing a recycling facility, a dress-making shop, several marine protected areas, and a teachers training for a grade-school coastal ecology curriculum. During her graduate career, Carrie spent a summer on Nantucket Island studying bay scallops and wetland ecology. She co-authored the discussion paper for the NOAA-funded workshop "Benthic-Pelagic Linkages in MPA Design: Exploring the Application of Science to Vertical Zoning Approaches" in Monterey Bay, CA on November 15-16, 2005. Her Master’s thesis was on the influence of wave exposure on a predatory intertidal snail. At URI, Carrie hopes to deepen her ecological expertise while gaining insight and knowledge on the socio-economic and management challenges of developing and implementing sustainable fisheries and aquaculture practices. Personal accomplishments outside of academia include hiking the entire Appalachian Trail (2,174 miles), completing a ½ Ironman triathlon, completing a full marathon, and being awarded an All-American U.S. Masters Swimmer for distance free. You can contact Carrie at carriebyron@mail.uri.edu.