SAC members volunteer for the needs of AES student members and the AES society as a whole. They volunteer their time running the AES Store and Auctions at the annual meetings, as well as working on their own research, helping students of AES to network, and contributing to elasmobranch science as a whole. Below you can find each member, how they contribute to the SAC, and their associations and contacts.
Emily Sapp
Meeting T-shirt Coordinator
University of North Florida M.S. Student
Gelsleichter Shark Biology Lab
Gelsleichter Shark Biology Lab
More information
Email: emilygsapp@gmail.com
I am a graduate student at UNF in Dr. Jim Gelsleichter’s lab. For my thesis, I am investigating coelomic fluid as a potential indicator of elasmobranch reproductive status. I am also assisting Dr. Christine Bedore at Georgia Southern University with developing a liver surgery protocol for the field as well as validating blood meters for use in the field. As for my work in SAC this year, I was in charge of creating this year’s meeting t-shirts. After putting out a call for t-shirt design submissions, I was able to help digitize, finalize, and vote on the winning design.
Ashley Mackenzie Dawdy
Auction Coordinator
PhD Student
Florida State University
Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory
Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory
More information
Email: adawdy@bio.fsu.edu
I am a third year PhD student in the Grubbs lab at Florida State University. My research is rooted in behavioral ecology, and I am primarily interested in the movement ecology of species of conservation concern. My current work includes investigating the movement behavior of cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in Apalachicola Bay and smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park. I have been coming to AES meetings since 2019 and currently serve on the SAC as the corporate donations liaison and auction coordinator.
Bryan Keller
Post-Doc Representative
Foreign Affairs Specialist
NOAA Fisheries
More information
Email: bryan.keller@noaa.gov
As a Foreign Affairs Specialist in NMFS Office of International Affairs, I work on the management of global fisheries. Much of this work occurs through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), such as ICCAT. My portfolio also includes shark conservation and management on the high-seas, which is accomplished through a variety of international fora and management resolutions.
Kennedy Vertin
Member at Large
Georgia Southern University
More information
Email: kcvertin@gmail.com
I am going into my first semester of my Masters where I’ll be studying post-release survival of Bull Sharks and Blacktip Sharks based on condition factor and blood stress in the Tampa Bay area. My main interests are: endangered species management, understanding how high temperature and hypoxic conditions impact the physiology and ecology of elasmobranchs, and habitat use and distribution of teleost fishes. My role for the SAC as a member-at-large is to assist with activities and duties as needed.
Vital Heim
Member at Large
PhD Student
University of Basel, Switzerland
More information
Email: vital.heim@unibas.ch
I am currently a PhD student in Zoology at the Zoological Institute of the University of Basel in Switzerland. My PhD research discusses movement patterns of great and scalloped hammerheads, Sphyrna mokarran and S. lewini, and aims to assess the efficacy of hypothetical time-area closures as a conservation strategy for these two species in the US Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
Triana Arguedas Álvarez
Student Workshop Coordinator
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission
More information
Email: trianaarguedas@gmail.com
I currently work on ongoing fisheries independent research projects for the research branch of the FWC.
Matthew Bernanke
Student Facebook Group Administrator
Graduate Student
University of North Florida
More information
Email: matthew.bernanke@gmail.com
I am a graduate student at the University of North Florida studying habitat use and movement patterns of young-of-the-year scalloped hammerhead sharks in a known nursery area. The goal of my thesis is to quantify the extent to which the species utilizes the nursery, and the biotic and abiotic factors that drive this use. I enjoy spending my free time shooting wildlife and sports photography and playing tabletop games with my friends. I am the Student Facebook Group Administrator for the SAC, so my position entails managing an online space where the students of AES can have discussions, ask questions, and meet each other.
Cecilia Hampton
Webmaster
Graduate Student
Florida Atlantic University
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
More information
Email: hamptonc2022@fau.edu
I am a graduate student at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. I am currently studying the bioacoustics of feeding behaviors in durophagous predators, specifically in the cases of predation by loggerhead turtles, spotted eagle rays, stone crabs, or longspine puffer fish on gastropods, crustaceans, and bivalves. I hope to work with machine learning and classification of these sounds to monitor depredation through passive acousitc monitoring. My interests are mainly in elasmobranchs, movement ecology, and bioacoustics.
Rachel Aitchison
Member at Large
Pacific Shark Research Center
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
More information
Email: rachel.aitchison7@gmail.com
My main interests and focus are taxonomy and systematics, especially for understudied cartilaginous fishes. For my master’s thesis, I’m working on improving the descriptions for three Data Deficient species of guitarfish from the Southwestern Indian Ocean. Since most guitarfishes are threatened with extinction, it is imperative that these species be redescribed so we can look into their life history and population status. I also often communicate science through art and enjoy participating in #SundayFishSketch on Twitter! Within AES, I’m a member at large for the SAC as well as a member of the currently ad-hoc Outreach & Education committee. In both committees, I serve as a supporting role that provides help wherever needed.
Chessie Craig
Member at Large
Graduate Student
Georgia Southern University
More information
Email: cc35700@georgiasouthern.edu
I am a SAC student at large as of 2022. My research interests include elasmobranch ecological physiology, specifically stress physiology and batoids.