Kelly L Robinson

2012 PhD Marine Science, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

2007 MSc Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

2004 BSc Biology, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Virginia

Robinson Marine Zooplankton Ecology Lab pages

My research interests as a coastal biological oceanographer are broadly aimed at understanding how marine zooplankton populations respond to climate-related and anthropogenic perturbations, with an emphasis on gelatinous plankton predators (i.e. jellyfish). Specifically, how variability in biophysical features operating at a range of spatio-temporal scales affect abundance, distribution, and mediate predator-prey interactions. Key questions include: What is the long-term response of zooplankton production to climate forcing? What are the biophysical drivers of fine-scale variation (i.e. ‘patchiness’) in zooplankton abundance? Do the effects of drivers vary with large-scale climate forcing? How does climate-driven variation in plankton production affect food web energy transfer to lower (e.g. microbial) and upper level consumers (e.g., planktivorous fish) in coastal marine ecosystems?

To address questions related to this topic, I use a combination of experimental lab work, field studies, and modeling (including spatial analysis and food web modeling). I am particularly interested in applying novel technologies and approaches like plankton imaging systems and data science to marine ecology questions.