I am an international master’s student joining the Wyeth Lab from sunny South Florida. My research involves the use of underwater videography to study juvenile lobster abundance and behavioral patterns along protected waters on Nova Scotia’s northern coastline. Earning my bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, I studied disease ecology and physiology in a variety of marine invertebrates through research experiences. After graduating in 2023, I followed the field of crustacean biology to the University of Maine, where I first interacted with the American lobster industry and researched settlement through an internship with The Lobster Institute. I am excited to research lobsters in their early life stages here in Nova Scotia and contribute to the dynamic team at the Wyeth Lab at StFX.

In the Wyeth Lab, my research focuses on the field behavior and navigation of the captivating sea slug, Hermissenda crassicornis. I earned my undergraduate degree in Marine Biology from the University of British Columbia in 2023, where I gained fieldwork skills at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Throughout my undergraduate journey, I collaborated with various organizations and labs, including Project Seahorse, iSeahorse, the O’Connor Lab, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, the UBC Aqua Society, the UBC Women in Science Club, Women in Ocean Science, the Research Experience Program, X-Oceans Outreach, and the Sustainability Committee. As an enthusiastic diver since 2011, I have since gained my scientific diving certification, which complements my current project of capturing underwater videos of sea slugs in their natural habitats near Bamfield, British Columbia. Beyond my research, I have a deep passion for the arts, often dedicating my weekends to underwater photography and pottery.

I am an international master’s degree student, originally from Long Beach, California, although most of my professional studies involving Marine Biology were accomplished in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. My main interests in Biology have always been evolution, macro-invertebrate taxonomy and ecology of biofouling assemblages. I have worked as an independent biofouling consultant for marine fish farms in Mexico, and now I am excited to start a new project focused on antifouling effectiveness of UV radiation. This antifouling technology may be the next big step towards cleaner and more efficient maritime transportation, but until then I will put it to the test and analyze its effectiveness in depth through my work in the Wyeth Lab at StFX.

Grace Walls is a third year PhD student in the St. FX and Memorial University joint program looking to unravel the mysteries of lobster foraging ecology. She completed her B.S. in Biology with minors in Natural Resource Conservation and Psychology from University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2013. From there she developed 6 different marine education programs for different NPOs and school systems of her native Cape Cod. Drawn to research, she went aboard the NOAAS Henry B. Bigelow which started off the adventure of hundreds of sea days spent on both fishing and research vessels around the globe. The majority of her time was spent with the Alaskan fishing fleets based the Aleutian Islands, sailing in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Migrating to the Baltic Sea for her masters in Biological Oceanography her thesis monitored the effects of changing environmental conditions on plastic ingestion and feeding ecology of benthopelagic fish. Switching gears once again and settling benthically to work with invertebrates, Grace completed her thesis field work in 2022 and is currently in the process of analyzing our >6500-hour lobster foraging dataset.