Michelle Staudinger

2010 Ph.D. Marine Science and Technology / Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA

2004 M.S. Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

2000 Certificate of Graduate Study in Conservation Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY

1997 B.S. Marine Biology / Environmental Science, Boston University, Boston, MA

My research program spans a broad range of questions related to the ecology and conservation of coastal ecosystems spanning local to global scales. My primary focus is understanding climate change impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services. Recent work has sought to understand how coastal fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals have responded to changes in annual and seasonal warming through shifts in phenology and how these responses either increase risk and vulnerability or assist species to adapt and sustain ongoing impacts.

In my role as Science Coordinator at the Department of the Interior Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, I work cooperatively with regional stakeholders to assess the vulnerability of natural and cultural resources to current and future impacts of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors as well as develop adaptation strategies to reduce risk.

• Dean, E.M., A.R. Cooper, L. Wang, W.D. Daniel, S. David, K. Gido, E. Hale, T. Haxton, W. Kelso, N. Leonard, C. Lido, J. Margraf, M. Porter, C. Pennock, D. Propst, J. Ross, M. D. Staudinger, G. Whelan, and D. Infante. In review. The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NOMAD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Journal of Biogeography. 
• Yakola, K., A. Jordaan, S. Kress, P. Shannon, M.D. Staudinger. In review. Interspecific and local variation in tern chick diets across nesting colonies in the Gulf of Maine. Waterbirds.
• Dalton, R.M., J. J. Sheppard, J. T. Finn, A. Jordaan, M. D. Staudinger. In review. Phenological variation in spring migration timing of adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in coastal Massachusetts. Marine and Coastal Fisheries.
• Bratton, R., H., Legett, K. Yakola, P. Shannon, A. Gerson, M.D. Staudinger. In review. Pre-breeding foraging ecology of three tern species nesting in the Gulf of Maine. Avian Conservation Ecology.
• Pershing, A.J., M.A. Alexander, D.C. Brady, D. Brickman, E.N. Curchitser, A.W. Diamond, L. McClenachan. K.E. Mills, O.C. Nichols, D.E. Pendleton, N.R. Record, J.D. Scott, M.D. Staudinger, Y. Wang. 2021. Climate impacts on the Gulf of Maine ecosystem: A review of observed and expected changes in 2050 from rising temperatures. Elementa Science of the Anthropocene, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.00076
• Legett, H.D., A. Jordaan, A. H. Roy, J. J. Sheppard, M. Somos-Valenzuela, M.D. Staudinger. 2021. Daily patterns of river herring (Alosa spp.) spawning migrations: environmental drivers and variation among coastal streams in Massachusetts. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 150(4): 501-513. http://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10301Staudinger, M.D., A.J. Lynch, S. Gaichas, M. Fox, D. Gibson-Reinemer, J. Langan, A. Teffer, S.J. Thackeray, I.J. Winfield. 2021. How does climate change affect emergent properties of aquatic ecosystems? Fisheries. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10606
• Guckian, M.L., C. Tucker, E. Kiekebusch, T. Klemm, E.M. Markowitz, L. Middleton, A. Wootten, M.D. Staudinger. 2021. Assessing the impact of an online climate science community The Early Career Climate Forum. Weather, Climate and Society. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-20-0150.1
• Weiskopf, S., M. Rubenstein, L. Crozier, S. Gaichas, R. Griffis, J. Halofsky, K. Hyde, T.L. Morelli, J. Morisette, R. Muñoz, A. Pershing, D. Peterson, R. Poudel, M.D. Staudinger, A. Sutton-Grier, L. Thompson, J. Vose, J.F. Weltzin, K. Powys Whyte. 2020. Climate change effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and natural resource management in the United States. Science of the Total Environment, 733: 137782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137782
• Staudinger, M. D., H. Goyert, J. Suca, K. Coleman, L. Welch, J. Llopiz, I. Altman, D. Wiley, A. Appelgate, P. Auster, H. Baumann, J. Beaty, D. Boelke, L. Kaufman, P. Loring, J. Moxley, S. Paton, K. Powers, D. Richardson, J. Robbins, J. Runge, B. Smith, C. Spiegel, H. Steinmetz. 2020. The role of sand lances (Ammodytes sp.) in the Northwest Atlantic Ecosystem: A synthesis of current knowledge with implications for conservation and management. Fish and Fisheries, 00:1–34 https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12445
• Polland, S.J., Staudinger, M.D., and F.S. Scharf.  2019. Foraging ecology of sympatric pelagic fish predators in the U.S. South Atlantic: interspecific differences in trophic niche within a shared prey community. Marine Ecology Progress Series 631:181-199. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13126
• Staudinger, M.D., C. France, V. Hartigan, E. Jorgensen, H. Judkins, A. Lindgren, E. K. Shea, and M. Vecchione. 2019. Ecological roles and trophic diversity of the cephalopod assemblage near Bear Seamount in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 629: 67-86. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13121
• Staudinger, M.D., K. Mills, K. Stamieszkin, N. Record, C. Hudak, A. Allyn., A. Diamond, K. Friedland, W. Golet, M. Henderson, C. Hernandez, T. Huntington, R. Ji., C. Johnson, D. Johnson, A. Jordaan, J. Kocik, Y. Li, M. Liebman, O. Nichols, D. Pendleton, A. Richards, T. Robben, A. Thomas, H. Walsh, K. Yakola. 2019. It’s about time? A synthesis of changing phenology in the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem. Fisheries Oceanography: 00:1–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/fog.12429
• Powell, E., M. C. Tyrell, A. Milliken, J.M. Tirpak, and M. D. Staudinger. 2018. A review of coastal management approaches to support the integration of ecological and human community planning for climate change. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-018-0632-y
• Bird, C. C. Trueman, A. Veríssimo, S. Magozzi, K. Abrantes, A. Aguilar, H. Al-Reasi, A. Barnett, D. Bethea, G. Biais, A. Borrell, M. Bouchoucha, M. Boyle, J. Brunnschweiller, P. Bustamante, A. Carlisle, D. Catarino, S. Caut, Y. Cherel, T. Chouvelon, D. Churchill, J. Ciancio, J. Claes, A. Colaço, D. Courtney, P. Cresson, R. Daly, L. De Necker, T. Endo, I. Figueiredo, A. Frisch, J. Hansen, M. Heithaus, N. Hussey, J. Iitembu, F. Juanes, M. Kinney, J. Kiszka, D. Kopp, R. Leaf, Y. Li, S. Klarian, A. Lorrain, D. Madigan, A. Maljković, L. Malpica-Cruz, P. Matich, M. Meekan, F. Menard, G. Menezes, S. Munroe, M. Newman, Y. Papastamatiou, H. Pethybridge, J. Plumlee, C. Polo-silva, K. Quaeck, V. Raoult, J. Reum, Y. Eden Torres-Rojas, D. Shiffman, C. Speed, M. Staudinger, A. Teffer, A. Tilley, M. Valls, J. Vaudo, T. Wai, R. Wells, A. Wyatt. 2018. A global perspective on the trophic geography of sharks. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2: 299-305. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0432-z
• Powell, E., M. C. Tyrell, A. Milliken, J.M. Tirpak, and M. D. Staudinger. 2017. A synthesis of sea level rise and storm thresholds for 44 focal species along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts: A review of research and application. Ocean and Coastal Management, 148: 75-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.07.012
• Duffy, L.M., P. Kuhnert, H.R. Pethybridge, J.W. Young, R.J. Olson, J.M. Logan, N. Goñi, E. Romanov, V. Allain, M.D. Staudinger, M. Abecassis, A. Choy, A.J. Hobday, M. Simier, F. Galván-Magaña, M. Potier, and F. Ménard. 2017. Global trophic ecology of yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tunas: Understanding tuna predation on micronekton communities at ocean-basin scales. Deep Sea Research II, 140: 55-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.03.003
• Shea, E.K., H. Judkins, M.D. Staudinger, V. Hartigan, A. Lindgren, and M. Vecchione. 2017. Cephalopod biodiversity in the vicinity of Bear Seamount, western North Atlantic. Marine Biodiversity, DOI 10.1007/s12526-017-0633-3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0633-3
• Alexander, K.E., W.B. Leavenworth, C. Hall, S. Mattocks, S.M. Bittner, E. Klein, M.D. Staudinger, A. Bryan, J. Rosset, T. Willis, B.H. Carr, and A. Jordaan. 2017.  Tambora and the mackerel year: Phenology and fisheries during an extreme climate event.  Science Advances, 3: e1601635. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601635
• Beever, E.A., O’Leary, J., Mengelt, C., West, J., Julius, S., Green, N., Magness, D., Petes, L., Stein, B., Nicotra, A.B., Hellmann, J.J., Robertson, A.L., Staudinger, M.D., Rosenberg, A.A., Babij, E., Brennan, J., Schuurman, G.W., and G.E. Hofmann.  2016. Improving conservation outcomes with a new paradigm for understanding species’ fundamental and realized adaptive capacity. Conservation Letters, 9(2):131-137. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12190
• Grimm, N.B., Groffman, P., Staudinger, M.D., and H. Tallis. 2016. Climate change impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services in the United States: Process and prospects for sustained assessment. Climatic Change, 135: 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1547-3
• Teffer, A.K., Staudinger, M.D., and F. Juanes. 2015. Trophic niche overlap among dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and co-occurring tunas near the northern edge of their range in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biology, 162(9): 1823-1840. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2715-8
• Butler, C.M., Logan, J.M. Provaznik, J.M., Hoffmayer, E.R., Staudinger, M.D., Quattro, J.M., Roberts, M.A., Ingram, G.W., Pollack, A.G., and M.E. Lutcavage. 2015. Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) feeding ecology in the northern Gulf of Mexico: A preliminary description of diets from the western Atlantic spawning grounds. Journal of Fish Biology, 86: 365-374. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12556
• Teffer, A. K., Staudinger, M.D., Taylor, D.L., and F. Juanes. 2014. Trophic influences on mercury accumulation in top pelagic predators from offshore New England waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Marine Environmental Research, 101: 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2014.09.008
• Staudinger, M.D., McAlarney, R., Pabst, A., and W. McLellan. 2014. Foraging ecology and niche overlap in pygmy (Kogia breviceps) and dwarf (Kogia sima) sperm whales from waters of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast.  Marine Mammal Science, 30(2): 626-655.  https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12064
• Staudinger, M.D., Hanlon, R.T., Mathger, L., and K. C. Buresch.  2013.  Defensive responses of cuttlefish to different teleost predators. Biological Bulletin, 225: 161–174. https://doi.org/10.1086/BBLv225n3p161
• Staudinger, M.D., Carter, S., Cross, M., Dubois. N., Duffy, E., Enquist, C., Griffis, R., Hellmann, J., Lawler, J., Morrison, S., O’Leary, J., Stein, B., and W. Turner.  2013.  Biodiversity in a changing climate: A synthesis of current and projected trends in the United States.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 11(9): 465-473. https://doi.org/10.1890/120272
• Grimm, N., Staudinger, M.D., Staudt, A., Carter, S., Chapin, F.S.III, Kareiva, P., Ruckelshaus, M., and B. Stein. 2013. Climate-change impacts on ecological systems: Introduction to a US assessment.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 11(9): 456-464. https://doi.org/10.1890/120310
• Staudinger, M.D., Juanes, F., Salmon, B., and A. K. Teffer.  2013.  The distribution, diversity, and importance of cephalopods in top predator diets from offshore habitats of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.  Deep Sea Research II, 95: 182–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2012.06.004
• Staudinger, M.D.  2011.  Species- and size-specific variability of mercury concentrations in four commercially important finfish and their prey from the northwest Atlantic. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62: 734-740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.01.017
• Staudinger, M.D., Hanlon, R.T., and F. Juanes.  2011.  Primary and secondary defenses of squid to cruising and ambush fish predators: variable tactics and their survival value.  Animal Behaviour, 81: 585-594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.002
• Staudinger, M.D., and F. Juanes.  2010.  Size-dependent susceptibility of longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii) to attack and capture by two predators.  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 393: 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2010.07.005
• Staudinger, M.D., and F. Juanes.  2010.  A size-based approach to quantifying predation on longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii) in the northwest Atlantic.  Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 399: 225-241. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08339
• Staudinger, M.D., and F. Juanes.  2010.  Feeding tactics of a behaviorally plastic predator, summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus).  Journal of Sea Research, 64 (1): 68-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2009.08.002
• Staudinger, M.D., Juanes, F., and S. Carlson.  2009.  Reconstruction of original body size and estimation of allometric relationships for the longfin inshore squid (L. pealeii) and northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus).  Fishery Bulletin, 107: 101–105.
• Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., Hall, K., Lipinski, M. R., Marian, J.E.A.R., Nishiguchi, M., Sakai, M., Shulman, D.J., Sinclair, B., Sinn, D.L., Staudinger, M.D., Van Gelderen, R., Villanueva, R., and K. Warnke.  2007.  Ethical and welfare considerations when using cephalopods as experimental animals. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 17: 455-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-007-9056-8
• Staudinger, M.D.  2006.  Seasonal and size-based predation on two species of squid by four fish predators on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf.  Fishery Bulletin, 104 (4): 605-615.