Discover the latest updates in the Morgan PEARL Newsletter!
In this issue, you will…
Catch student highlights from our Summer 2025 Intern Symposium
Hear about Morgan State sophomores exploring PEARL during the Second Year Experience
Celebrate Dr. Amanda Bevans’ successful Ph.D. dissertation defense on Chesapeake Bay habitat and population change
Discover how students contributed to projects in biogeochemistry, ecology, aquaculture, and environmental economics …and so much more!
From the PEARL Director
The more things change….
It’s Fall in Maryland - without a doubt my favorite season. Some folks love Spring; I can understand that. The mild temps, the sharpness and brilliance of the flowers – the whites and pinks and pastels, the trees transitioning from bare skeletons into neon greenery that deepens as Spring turns to Summer. But Fall… The rusty oranges, reds and yellows, the cool breezes paired with the warm sun. Unlike Spring - with promises of beaches and summer vacations yet to come, Fall is about hanging on. Each warm day treasured as those days grow shorter and the leaves depart from their branches.
Love it or leave it - Fall is a time of transition. With that in mind, I would like to highlight two exciting transitions at PEARL.
First, a huge congratulations to scientist Dr. Ming Liu. Ming has been at the PEARL for 8 years, and this Fall he transitioned into an Associate Professor position with the MSU Biology Department. This is a well-earned advancement that comes with increasing teaching responsibilities and additional duties with MSU’s new state-funded Center for Urban and Coastal Climate Science Research. As PEARL’s shellfish hatchery is critical infrastructure that supports Ming’s research program, Ming’s presence down here won’t change. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Second, big-time congrats to PEARL’s Dr. Amanda Bevans who defended her dissertation at PEARL this Fall. Amanda will be staying on as a Research Associate in a 1 year term position - with the goal of extending that position for a more conventional 3 year postdoc contingent upon successful grant writing. I am optimistic that we’ll be able to make that happen.
Amanda began her academic career at PEARL as an intern 4 years ago, has now successfully navigated her doctoral program, and will soon begin her post-PhD career at the PEARL. The more things change, the more they stay the same!
As always, thank you so much for your interest in and support of the Morgan PEARL! Enjoy this Fall season and please consider dropping me a note @ scott.knoche@morgan.edu.
Best,
Scott Knoche
Education News
Summer Internship Program Highlights
This year’s cohort of interns had quite the summer! Between their research projects (read about those in each section!) they explored Southern Maryland and took field trips to exciting marine facilities.
Our interns’ first field trip of the summer was to our local Calvert Marine Museum where they toured the museum and received a guided tour of the Drum Point Lighthouse.
PEARL interns also had the chance to visit the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Annapolis warehouse and meet with several NOAA staff. Our NOAA friends designed a fun activity for our interns, having them test their engineering skills by creating miniature buoys!
left top row l-r: Drew, George, Noah, Max, Lauren, Elena, Samantha bottom row l-r: Myra, Haley, Mya, Tyler, Mikayla
Education News
The interns’ last field trip of the summer was to the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) in Baltimore! The favorite activity of the day was magnet fishing in the Inner Harbor where they found a few surprises!
Our summer interns had quite a summer, culminating in their final presentations and poster session. We will miss them here at the PEARL, but we’re excited to see what they do next!
Our full cohort of interns before the 2025 Intern Symposium. (Back Row, L-R: Myla, Noah, Drew, Max, Mya, George, Elena, Tyler; Front Row, L-R: Haley, Myra, Lauren, Samantha)
above: Interns Samantha, Myla, Elena, and Lauren take samples of biofouling collected from some of the electric scooters they found in the Inner Harbor while magnet fishing.
below: Interns Drew and Noah use a handheld meter to measure water quality in the Inner Harbor.
Second Year Experience Students Visit PEARL
The PEARL was thrilled to host the Second Year Experience again this fall. We had an amazing group of second year undergraduate students from Morgan State visit the lab to learn about our latest research. A trip to the PEARL wouldn’t be complete without a ride on our research vessel – the RV Mya.
Morgan State students and staff on the RV Mya and posing for a picture after an exciting visit to the PEARL.
Coastal Biogeochemistry News
Biogeochemistry Sampling
This summer, the Biogeochemistry Lab hosted four interns. All four interns were able to participate in Chesapeake Bay fieldwork and laboratory work throughout the summer.
Samantha Symonette is currently a senior Biology major at Morgan State University. She fostered her interest in environmental science by studying colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and chlorophyll this summer.
Myra Mayn recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a B.A. in Chemistry. Coming into the summer already interested in biogeochemistry, she worked with fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) for her internship project.
Lauren VanMeter is currently a junior Coastal Engineering major at the University of North CarolinaWilmington. Growing up in southern Maryland encouraged a love of the Chesapeake Bay, which led her to working in the biogeochemistry lab studying particulate organic carbon (POC) and total suspended solids (TSS).
Myla Bancroft is a senior at Calvert High School and has been working with Dr. Knobloch for a few years on both education and research related tasks. This summer she helped the other interns with sampling preparation and cleaning.
Above: Biogeochemistry interns Myla, Myra, Lauren, and Samantha pose with Dr. Knobloch and their well-deserved Certificates of Internship.
Left: Interns Samantha, Lauren, and Myra help get one of the automatic water samplers ready for deployment at one of our Maryland Eastern Shore sites.
Environmental Economics News
Representing PEARL Across the Region
BLUE-CORE (BLUE space COllaborative REsearch) to improve coastal access & climate resilience in South Baltimore
The BLUE-CORE team hosted a Community Kickoff Meeting on June 5th at the Baltimore Rowing & Water Resource Center. Over 35 South Baltimore residents attended to share their perceptions and experiences related to accessing Baltimore’s coastal spaces.
Since the kickoff, the BLUE-CORE team has formed the Project Steering Committee, which is comprised of residents from Cherry Hill, Westport, Brooklyn, and Curtis Bay. The next step of the project is to co-produce research with the Steering Committee, which will entail meeting quarterly for two years beginning this December. Morgan research contributors to this project include Dr. Scott Knoche, Dr. Kehinde Ojo, Anjali Gulati, and Ph.D. student Kristen Jones on the quantitative research team, and Dr. Mark Barnes, Dr. Samia Kirchner, and Ph.D. student Ebram Victoria on the qualitative research team. Dr. Lisa Wainger is an advising contributor from University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.
Sustainable Aquaculture Systems Supporting Atlantic Salmon (SAS²) 2025 Conference
Alberta Adegbe, a Master of Business Administration student at Morgan State University working with the PEARL Environmental Economics Team as a Graduate Research Assistant on the Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) Salmon project, attended the recently concluded SAS² 2025 Conference along with Dr. Scott Knoche, PEARL Director, and Dr. Kehinde Ojo, Senior Research Economist at PEARL.
The conference, hosted by the Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology at the Living Classrooms Maritime Park in Fells Point, Baltimore City, brought together academia, industry stakeholders, and extension educators to discuss lessons learned and the way forward for land-based RAS salmon production in the U.S.
A photo from the BLUE-CORE Kickoff Meeting in Baltimore City on June 5, 2025.
From left to right: Dr. Kehinde Ojo, Dr. Scott Knoche, and Alberta Adegbe at Living Classrooms Maritime Park in Fells Point, Baltimore City, on October 15, 2025
Environmental Economics News
Representing PEARL Across the Region
PEARL Environmental Economics Researcher Presents at 8th Annual Social Cost of Water Pollution Workshop.
Dr. Kehinde Ojo presented on the PEARL Environmental Economics project “The Benefits of Mitigating Harmful Algal Blooms in U.S. Lakes,” a collaborative effort with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES CBL). Dr. Ojo shared the ongoing national survey work at the 8th Annual Social Cost of Water Pollution (SCWP) Workshop, held in Washington, D.C., from September 24 to 26, 2025.
This ongoing project, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, includes research personnel from both UMCES CBL (Dr. Lisa Wainger, Dr. Matt Weber, Elizabeth Price, and Eva Bailey) and MSU PEARL (Dr. Scott Knoche, Dr. Kehinde Ojo, Anjali Gulati, and Emily Hoyt). The ultimate goal of the project is to estimate national-scale changes in economic benefits resulting from reductions in harmful algal bloom intensity and extent, thereby informing policy and management decisions related to freshwater lakes across the country.
Environmental Economics Team Summer Interns
Present at the PEARL 2025 Internship
Symposium
Haley Gambrell (left) and Noah Robinson (right), mentored by Dr. Kehinde Ojo and Dr. Scott Knoche, presented their internship project posters at the PEARL Internship Symposium on August 6, 2025. Noah Robinson, an undergraduate senior majoring in Business Administration at Morgan State University, presented his work on understanding retail salmon expenditures across U.S. household demographics. His findings suggest that household spending on salmon varies by income group, race, and region. The study reveals consumer segmentation patterns for salmon, which can help producers, stakeholders, and policymakers better understand seafood consumers and improve marketing strategies. Haley Gambrell, an undergraduate senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, presented her poster on ongoing research exploring price premiums associated with retail salmon products. Most of her summer work focused on data cleaning, and she has continued this research into Fall 2025.
Coastal Ecology
Summer Wrap-Up and Exciting Fall Opportunities
Our interns wrapped up their summer with great success in early August, showcasing the results of their hard work at our annual symposium.
We were proud to have Elena, our Johns Hopkins University partner intern, present her project “Using Artificial Intelligence to Detect Spatial and Depth-Related Variation in Biofouling Communities in the Patuxent River.”
Three summer interns focused on PEARL’s long-running blue crab survey and shared their findings:
Max - “How’s the Catch? Comparing Blue Crab Catch Based on Different Crab Pot Designs”
Drew - “Diverging Weight-Width Trajectories Among Male Blue Crabs Reveal Sex and Class Specific Trends in the Chesapeake Bay”
Mya - “Investigating Environmental Influences on Blue Crab Dynamics in a Changing Bay”
This fall, we are excited to welcome research technician Lily Ridgell (below), who is continuing work on the blue crab survey through the remainder of the season. She has also jumped in to support multiple other projects at PEARL, making valuable contributions across the board.
Looking ahead, we are thrilled that two of our summer interns and our fall intern will present their research at the Chesapeake Watershed Forum in early November. This event will be a fantastic opportunity for them to share their work with a broader audience, make new connections, and deepen their understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the Chesapeake Bay.
Coastal Ecology
Celebrating Dr. Amanda Bevans’ Dissertation Defense
We are excited to share that Amanda Bevans successfully defended her dissertation, “Habitat and Population Change in the Chesapeake Bay: Impacts on the Ecosystem, Fisheries, and Regional Economics.”
Her research integrates long-term monitoring data with ecosystem modeling to explore blue crab population dynamics and the ecological and economic impacts of habitat change in the Chesapeake Bay. This work not only enhances our understanding of shifting blue crab populations observed in longterm surveys in Southern Maryland, but also provides critical insight into how habitat change affects both the ecosystem and regional fisheries.
We are thrilled that Dr. Bevans will continue her career at PEARL, where she will be contributing her expertise to our new blue catfish project.
Launching the Oyster Heaven Project
Our team has also been busy setting up the Oyster Heaven Project, an exciting new effort that has us working with a private industry partner to increase oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay. Oyster populations worldwide have been devastated by overharvesting, disease, pollution, and other humaninduced pressures, with some oyster populations pushed to the brink of extinction. Yet, restored oyster reefs play a critical role by supporting biodiversity, improving water quality, and protecting coastlines. This project will explore the potential for artificial substrate to aid in oyster restoration efforts.
Coastal Ecology
New Staff to Contribute to Invasive Blue Catfish Project
We are very excited to introduce the two newest staff members of the Ihde Lab at Morgan’s PEARL! These highly experienced ecosystem modelers will support the new project focused on incorporating fishermen knowledge to identify strategies to best manage invasive Blue Catfish in each jurisdiction of the Chesapeake Bay.
Ecospace Modeling Team Lead – Lauren Gentry (left) is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Florida Fish Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. She has been involved with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) Ecopath with Ecosim modeling effort since 2018 and has served as the Ecosystem Model Team Coordinator/PI since 2020 (project focus is application of Ecospace). During this time, she led the development of the South Atlantic Reef Fish ecosystem model and the Red Snapper High Recruitment Predation Analysis. She is a panelist on the South Atlantic Red Snapper Stock Assessment and collaborates with the Ecopath International Research and Development Consortium. She also serves as a Co-PI, technical lead, and collaborator on grants funded by Florida DEP, NOAA, and USFWS. Lauren is an expert in ecological modeling, fisheries management research, and advanced scripting.
Ecospace Specialist – Dr. Holden Harris (right) is a quantitative ecologist with over 15 years studying marine and coastal social-ecological systems. His research programs use synthesis science and ecosystem modeling to investigate the effects of environmental changes and human impacts on ecosystems and their services to society. He has led the development of several Ecospace models, including those for coastal estuaries and large marine ecosystems. Science-based stewardship requires strong collaboration, and his work is rooted in engaging stakeholders as partners in innovation, research, and conservation strategy. Before his role as Ecospace Specialist with PEARL’s Ihde Lab, he supported NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s implementation of the Changing Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative and led the Gulf Integrated Spatial-Temporal modeling project. Applied invasion ecology remains a core research interest, having led or supported models that examine the potential for developing a commercial fishery for invasive lionfish in the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), including models to assess ecosystem-based management solutions (Chagaris et al. 2017), population crashes (Harris et al. 2020), removal efficiency (Harris et al. 2019), and bioeconomic evaluations (Harris et al. 2023).
Coastal Ecology PEARL Microplastics Workshop at the Annual Chesapeake Bay HBCU/MSI Summit
On September 13-14, 2025, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay hosted its annual Chesapeake Bay HBCU/MSI Summit at NorthBay Educational Center in North East, Maryland. The event is free and open to students and faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) from across the Chesapeake Bay corridor. The summit aims to foster connections by bringing students and faculty together from diverse institutions to build a network of environmental professionals, build capacity by equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue careers in environmental science and policy, and provide a showcase that highlights initiatives, projects, and research conducted on environmental initiatives at HBCU and MSI campuses in the Mid-Atlantic region.
This year’s summit featured a wide range of environmental topics and hands-on activities—one of which was led by the Microplastics Research Group, including Dr. Chunlei Fan (Professor, Morgan State University), Dr. Sulakshana Bhatt (Adjunct Lecturer, Morgan State University), and Tameka Taylor (PhD Candidate, Morgan State University). Dr. Bhatt and Ms. Taylor guided 20 students and faculty members through an engaging Microplastics Workshop, designed to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the pressing environmental challenges, along with cutting-edge technology and strategies for mitigating microplastic pollution.
Participants engaged in direct field sampling by collecting surface water samples from the Chesapeake Bay. These samples were then processed using a novel extraction method developed by Dr. Chunlei Fan. Finally, participants applied microscopy techniques to identify and compare the extracted microplastic particles between the natural environment and microplastic-spiked control samples. This workshop provided an unforgettable experience and an excellent opportunity for participants to learn about one of the most challenging environmental concerns affecting marine ecosystems and human health today.
Aquaculture News
Selective Breeding to Improve Heat Tolerance in Soft-Shell Clams
Developing a successful soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) aquaculture industry in Maryland has long been challenged by severe summer mortality caused by high water temperatures. To overcome this obstacle, the PEARL Aquaculture Team has been conducting selective breeding to enhance heat tolerance in soft-shell clams, supported by Maryland Sea Grant and the Morgan State University Office of Technology Transfer (OTT).
During the summers of 2023 and 2024, the team initiated selective breeding using seed produced in the spring of each year. These seed clams were grown through the summer under natural heat stress conditions, and the survivors were preserved as selected lines, designated HT2023 and HT2024. In spring 2025, the team conditioned the two-year-old HT2023 clams and successfully produced the next HT2023 (F1) generation. A preliminary evaluation comparing the F1 HT2023 line with a control line bred from wild broodstock under summer heat conditions showed 15% higher survival in the HT2023 line, demonstrating promising improvement in heat tolerance. The survivors from the 2025 selection will be maintained and reared for a second round of selection, ensuring continued genetic progress.
In parallel, the team is advancing a marker-assisted selection (MAS) approach to accelerate breeding. A total of 346 adult clams were thermally challenged at the PEARL hatchery (25–30 °C). Mortality timing revealed clear differences in heat tolerance among individuals, confirming that selective breeding can effectively enhance thermal resilience. All deceased clams were preserved with recorded death dates, and together with samples from the 2023 experiment, will undergo genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) at the Morgan Core Laboratory. The goal is to identify significant genomic DNA variations associated with heat tolerance and develop molecular markers to predict and select superior broodstock—ultimately shortening the selection cycle and achieving greater genetic gains.
Softshell clams spawned in Spring 2025 growing in the outdoor upweller at PEARL’s pier.
Aquaculture News
Advancing Genetic Improvement for Resilient Oysters
Caption: PEARL aquaculture team are putting clam seed into the culture gears before deployment.
Dr. Ming Liu has developed a genomic selection model in previous research that uses associations between genomic DNA variations and the trait of lowsalinity tolerance to identify optimal broodstock for breeding. This year the team utilized the broodstock predicted from the model and produced a lowsalinity-tolerant line, along with a control line representing less tolerant oysters. Both lines will be deployed this fall at several low-salinity sites such as the upper Patuxent River and Baltimore Inner Harbor to evaluate survival and validate the model’s predictive accuracy. In addition, these lines will be tested at higher-salinity locations such as Tangier Sound, the Choptank River, and the New Jersey coast to advance the development of MSX-resistant strains.
To further support the development of tetraploid oysters, the team has also produced a new triploid line to expand the broodstock base for upcoming tetraploid trials.
The picture at the left includes oyster seed spawned at PEARL in Summer 2025. This oyster seed includes a collection of PEARL’s low salinity line, triploid oysters, and wild oysters as controls.
