Nick Record, PhD

Senior Research Scientist

Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting Director

Ecosystem Modeling

Phone: +1 (207) 315-2567, ext. 316
nrecord@bigelow.org

For media inquiries, please contact: communications@bigelow.org

Bio PublicationsCV

Lab Page TCOF

Education

BA Mathematics, University of Rochester 2001

MA Mathematics, University of Rochester 2002

MSc Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland 2005

PhD Oceanography, University of Maine 2012

Research Interests

What is the future of the ocean?

Global systems are rapidly changing, and the fate of humanity is tied to the fate of the ocean. Answering the question above requires integration across disciplines and across borders, from physics, to ecology, to human systems around the world. I work at the intersection of computational oceanography and social sciences, and with partners around the world to calculate paths forward for the ocean and the communities that depend on it.

Ocean Forecasting - The science of prediction has advanced to the point where we can use big data, mathematical models, and machine learning to predict phenomena ranging from toxic algal blooms to whale migrations. We’ve launched the Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting, where we design ocean forecasts that provide accessible and equitable tools for prospering in a changing ocean environment.

Ocean Data Justice - The rapid development of data and algorithm technologies has often had unintended consequences for many applications and for many communities. Our group applies a Data Justice lens to Ocean Science to understand how the use of data and algorithms can shape the way ocean research impacts people. Read more here.

Education - Much of my work involves science translation, both for policy applications and for the general public, as well as education and community science. I direct the Sea Change Semester Program, a 14-week immersive ocean science semester for undergraduates, and some of my science writing is linked below.

Recent Columns

What’s lurking in the deep Gulf of Maine? - The Working Waterfront
Ocean Viruses Contain Keys to Life: The ocean is awash in viruses, many of which are essential to life as we know it - Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors.
Maine Voices: To change our state’s forecast for COVID-19, we cannot afford half measures - Portland Press Herald.
Algorithms in the Wild - The Brooklyn Rail.
Ecological forecasting ethics: lessons for COVID-19 - Dynamic Ecology.
Environmental DNA: Seeing the ocean in a bottle - Maine Boats Homes & Harbors
Environmental DNA: The next map of the ocean - Landings
The Uncertain Future of Right Whales: Saving endangered whales means crucial compromises - Maine Boats Homes & Harbors.
The hunt for red tides: The biology of toxic algal blooms - Maine Boats Homes & Harbors.
Unearthly Floating Objects - Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors
Maine has a Front-row Seat for Climate Change - The Working Waterfront
Forget 2100 - Seascape Modeling
Be on the Lookout for 'Oceans of Jelly' - The Working Waterfront
Solving Fermi's Paradox - Seascape Modeling
Dockside Oceanography: Taking the Pulse of the Ocean - The Working Waterfront

Publications

2024

MCC STS. 2024. Scientific Assessment of Climate Change and Its Effects in Maine - 2024 Update. A Report by the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STS) of the Maine Climate Council (MCC). Augusta, Maine. 268 pp.
Record, N.R., A.J. Pershing, D.B. Rasher. 2024. Early warning of a cold wave in the Gulf of Maine. Oceanography, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2024.506.
Wang R, Record NR, King DW, Chowdhury T. Designing A Sustainable Marine Debris Clean-up Framework without Human Labels. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.14815. 2024 May 23.
Plourde S, Lehoux C, Roberts JJ, Johnson CL, Record NR,Pepin P, Orphanides C, Schick RS, Walsh HJ, Ross CH (2024). Describing the seasonal and spatial distribution of Calanus species and North Atlantic right whale potential foraging habitats in Canadian waters using species distribution models. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2024/nnn. iv + 71 p.
Roberts JJ, Yack TM, Fujioka E, Halpin PN, Baumgartner MF, Boisseau O, Chavez-Rosales S, Cole TV, Cotter MP, Davis GE, DiGiovanni Jr RA, Ganley LC, Garrison LP, Good CP, Gowan TA, Jackson KA, Kenney RD, Khan CB, Knowlton AR, Krauss SD, Lockhart GG, Lomac-MacNair KS, Mayo CA, McKenna BE, McLellan WA, Nowacek DP, O’Brien O, Ann Pabst D, Palka DL, Patterson EM, Pendleton DE, Quintana-Rizzo E, Record NR, Redfern JV, Rickard ME, White M, Whitt AD, Zoidis AM (2024). North Atlantic right whale density surface model for the US Atlantic evaluated with passive acoustic monitoring. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 732:167-92.
Friedland KD, Nielsen JM, Record NR, Brady DC, Morrow CJ (2024). The phenology of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the North Atlantic does not trend with temperature. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 12(1).
Stamieszkin K, Millette NC, Luo JY, Follett E, Record NR, Johns DG (2024) Large protistan mixotrophs in the North Atlantic Continuous Plankton Recorder time series: associated environmental conditions and trends. Frontiers in Marine Science. 11:1320046.

2023

Record NR, McKenzie CH, Stumpf RP, Doucette G, Al Kharusi AS, Al Mawaali AK, Clarke D (2023) General framework for developing an early warning system. In: FAO, IOC and IAEA. 2023. Joint technical guidance for the implementation of early warning systems for harmful algal blooms. Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 690. Rome, FAO https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4794en
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology: An Evaluation from Wind to Whales. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27154.
Record NR, Tupper B, Evanilla J, Oliveira K, Ross C, Ngai L, Stamieszkin K (2023) The surprising oceanography of the Gulf of Maine. Maine Policy Review 32.2: 20-28
Pinti J, Visser AW, Record NR, Jónasdóttir SH (2023) The global contribution of seasonally migrating copepods to the biological carbon pump. Limnology and Oceanography.
Friedland KD, Record NR, Pendleton DE. Balch WM, Stamieszkin K, Moisan J, Brady D (2023) Asymmetry in the rate of warming and the phenology of seasonal blooms in the Northeast US Shelf Ecosystem. ICES J Mar Sci. fsad007.

2022

Ross C, Runge JA, Roberts JJ, Brady DC, Tupper B,Record NR (2022) Estimating North Atlantic right whale prey based on Calanus finmarchicus thresholds.Marine Ecology Progress Series. 703, 1-16.
Lewis AS, Rollinson CR, Allyn AJ, Ashander J, Brodie S, Brookson CB, Collins E, Dietze MC, Gallinat AS, Juvigny-Khenafou N, Koren G, McGlinn DJ, Moustahfid H, Peters JA, Record NR, Robbins CJ, Tonkin J, Wardle GM (2022) The power of forecasts to advance ecological theory.Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
Record NR, Evanilla J, Kanwit K, Burnell C, Cartisano C, Lewis BJ, MacLeod J, Tupper B, Miller DW, Tracy AT, White C, Moretti M, Hamilton B, Barner C, Archer SD (2022) Benefits and Challenges of a Stakeholder-Driven Shellfish Toxicity Forecast in Coastal Maine. Frontiers in Marine Science. 2022:1031.
Record NR, Evanilla J (2022) Toxic algae closures: What kinds of predictions are needed? National Shellfisheries Association Quarterly Newsletter 2022(2): 4-5. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.20122.52165
Balch WM, Drapeau DT, Bowler BC, Record NR, Bates NR, Pinkham S, Garley R, Mitchell C (2022) Changing hydrographic, biogeochemical and acidification properties in the Gulf of Maine as measured by the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series, GNATS, between 1998-2018.JGR Biogeosciences. e2022JG006790.
McClenachan L, Waller J, Record NR (2022) How do human actions affect fisheries? Differences in perceptions between fishers and scientists in the Maine lobster fishery.FACETS. 7: 174-193.

2021

Record NR, Pershing AJ (2021) Facing the forecaster’s dilemma: reflexivity in ocean ecosystem forecasting.Oceans. 2021, 2, 738–751.
Record NR (2021) The intertwined futures of whales and humans.Oceanography. 34 (3), 16-18.
Record NR, Vera LA (2021) Uncovering big data bias in sustainability science.Spire: The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability.
Pershing AJ , Alexander M, Brady D, Brickman D, Curchitser E, Diamond T, McClenachan L, Mills K, Nichols O, Pendleton DE, Record NR, Scott J, Staudinger M, Wang Y (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): 00076.
Ross CH, Pendleton DE, Tupper B, Brickman D, Zani MA, Mayo CA, Record NR (2021) Projecting regions of North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, habitat suitability in the Gulf of Maine for the year 2050.Elementa Science of the Anthropocene. 9 (1): 00058.
Record NR, Countway PD, Kanwit K, Fernández-Robledo JA (2021) Rise of the rare biosphere: Thinking beyond climate envelopes for forecasting harmful algal blooms.Elementa. 9 (1): 00056.

2020

McGinty N, Barton AD, Record NR, Finkel ZV, Johns DJ, Stock CA, Irwin AJ (2020) Anthropogenic climate change impacts on copepod trait biogeography.Global Change Biology
Record NR, Pershing AJ (2020) A note on the effects of epidemic forecasts on epidemic dynamics.PeerJ. 8:e9649
Beam JP, George S, Countway PD, Record NR, Johnston DT, Girguis PR, Emerson D (2020) Mud, microbes, and macrofauna: seasonal dynamics of the iron biogeochemical cycle in an intertidal mudflat.Frontiers. 7:921.
Brown JM, Brown J, Labonté J, Record NR, Poulton NJ, Sieracki ME, Logares R, Stepanauskas R (2020) Single Cell Genomics Reveals Viruses Consumed by Marine Protists.Frontiers in Microbiology. 11: 2317
Grasso I, Russell D, Matthews A, Matthews J, Record NR(2020) Applying Algorithmic Accountability Frameworks with Domain-specific Codes of Ethics: A Case Study in Ecosystem Forecasting for Shellfish Toxicity in the Gulf of Maine. In Proceedings of Proceedings of the FODS-2020: The ACM-IMS Foundations of Data Science Conference. (FODS-2020).ACM, New York, NY, USA, 8 pages.
Marquis ND, Bishop TJ, Countway PD, Record NR, Fernández-Robledo JA (2020) A qPCR-Based Survey of Haplosporidium nelsoni and Perkinsus spp. in the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica in Maine, USA.Pathogens 9(4):256.

2019

Grasso I, Archer SD, Burnell C, Tupper B, Rauschenberg C, Kanwit K, Record NR(2019) The hunt for red tides: Deep learning algorithm forecasts fine scale shellfish toxicity in coastal Maine.Ecosphere. 10(12): e02960.
Record NR, Runge JA, Pendleton DE, Balch WM, Davies KTA, Pershing AJ, Johnson CL, Stamieszkin K, Ji R, Feng Z, Kraus SD, Kenney RD, Hudak C, Mayo CA, Chen C, Salisbury J, Thompson CRS (2019) Rapid climate-driven circulation changes threaten conservation of endangered North Atlantic right whales.Oceanography. 32(2).
Record NR, Balch WM, Stamieszkin K (2019) Century-scale changes in phytoplankton phenology in the Gulf of Maine.PeerJ. 7:e6735.
Staudinger MD, Mills KE, Stamieszkin K, Record NR, Hudak CA, Allyn A, Diamond A, Friedland K, Golet W, Henderson ME, Hernandez CM, Huntington TG, Ji R, Johnson CL, Johnson DS, Jordan A, Kocik J, Li Y, Liebman M, Nichols OC, Pendleton DE, Richards RA, Robben T, Thomas AC, Walsh HJ, Yakola K (2019) It’s about time: A synthesis of changing phenology in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Fisheries Oceanography.28(5):532-566
Pershing AJ, Record NR, Alexander MA, Franklin BS, Kennedy BT, McClenachan L, Mills KE, Thomas AC, Scott JD, Wolff NH (2019) Challenges to natural and human communities from surprising ocean temperatures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1901084116.
Marquis ND, Record NR, Countway PD, Bishop TJ, Fernández Robledo JA (2019) Molecular epizootiology of Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum in the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) from Maine (NE USA). Pathogens. 8: 125.doi:10.3390/pathogens8030125
McClenachan L, Marra M, Record NR, Grabowski J, Neal B, Scyphers S (2019) Shifting perceptions of rapid temperature changes’ effects on marine fisheries, 1945-2017. Fish and fisheries.20(6):1111-1123

2018

Fernández-Robledo JA, Marquis ND, Countway PD, Record NR, Irish EL, Schuldt MM, Kingston SE, Bishop TJ, Messerman NA, Bowden TJ (2018) Pathogens of marine bivalves in Maine (USA): a historical perspective.Aquaculture. 493: 9-17.
Record NR, Ji R, Maps F, Varpe Ø, Runge JA, Johns DA (2018) Copepod diapause and the biogeography of the marine lipidscape. J. Biogeography (in press).doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13414
McGinty N, Barton AD, Record NR, Finkel Z, Irwin A (2018) Traits structure copepod niches in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.601:109-126.
Record NR, Tupper B, Pershing AJ (2018) The jelly report: Forecasting jellyfish using email and social media. Anthropocene Coasts.doi.org/10.1139/anc-2017-0003
Wang L, Kerr LA, Bridger E, Record NR, Tupper B (2018) Modeling marine pelagic fish species spatiotemporal distributions utilizing a maximum entropy approach. Fisheries Oceanography.27(6): 571-586.
Krumhansl KA, Head E, Pepin P, Plourde S, Record NR, Runge JA, Johnson C (2018) Environmental drivers of vertical distribution in diapausing Calanus copepods in the northwest Atlantic. Progress in Oceanography. 162:202-222.doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2018.02.018

2017

Record NR(2017) A people's science. Limnol. Oceanogr. Bull. 26(2), 36-37.doi: 10.1002/lob.10171
Ji R, Feng Z, Jones BT, Thompson C, Chen C, Record NR, Runge JA (2017) Coastal Amplification of Supply and Transport (CAST): A new hypothesis about the persistence of Calanus finmarchicus in the Gulf of Maine. ICES J Mar Sci. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw253
Pachiadaki MG, Sintes E, Bergauer K, Brown J, Record NR, Swan B, Mathyer ME, Hallam S, Lopez-Garcia P, Takaki Y, Nunoura T, Woyke T, Herndl G, Stepanauskas R (2017) Major role of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in dark ocean carbon fixation. Science. 358(6366): 1046-1051.
Thomas AC, Pershing AJ, Friedland KD, Nye JA, Mills K, Alexander MA, Weatherbee R, Henderson ME, Record NR(2017) Seasonal trends and phenology shifts in sea surface temperature on the North American northeast shelf. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 5: 48.

2016

Record NR, Talmy D, Våge S (2016) Quantifying tradeoffs for marine viruses. Frontiers Marine Science. 3: 251.doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00251
Record NR, O'Brien JD, Stamieszkin K, Runge JA (2016) Omic-style statistical clustering reveals old and new patterns in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Can. J. Fish. Aq. Sci.doi: 10.1139/cjfas-2016-0151
Middleton J, Martínez Martínez J, Wilson WH, Record NR(2016) The functional dynamics of Emiliania huxleyi virus-host interactions across multiple scales. Limnol. Oceanogr.doi: 10.1002/lno.10476.
Pershing AJ, Hernandez CM, Kerr LA, LeBris A, Mills KE, Nye JA, Record NR, Scannell HA, Sherwood GD, Thomas AC (accepted) Response to Comment on "Slow adaptation in the face of rapid warming leads to collapse of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery." Science. 352(6284): 423.doi: 10.1126/science.aae0463
Friedland KD, Record NR, Asch RG, Kristiansen T, Saba VS, Drinkwater K, Henson S, Leaf RT, Morse RE, Johns D, Large SI, Hjøllo SS, Nye JA, Alexander MA (2016) Seasonal plankton blooms in the North Atlantic linked to the distribution of diapausing zooplankton. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 4:000099.doi: 10.12952/journal.elementa.000099

2011-2015

Pershing AJ, Hernandez CM, Kerr LA, LeBris A, Mills KE, Nye JA, Record NR, Scannell HA, Sherwood GD, Thomas AC (2015) Slow adaptation in the face of rapid warming leads to the collapse of an iconic fishery. Science. 350 (6262): 809-812.doi: 10.1126/science.aac9819
Stamieszkin K, Pershing AJ, Record NR, Pilskaln CH, Dam HG, Feinberg LR (2015) Size as the master trait in modeled copepod fecal pellet carbon flux. Limnol. Oceanogr. doi: 10.1002/lno.10156
Golet W, Record NR, Lehuta S, Lutcavage M, Galuardi B, Cooper AB, Pershing AJ (2015) The paradox of the pelagics: Why bluefin tuna can go hungry in a sea of plenty. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 527: 181-192.
Marquis N, Record NR, Fernández-Robledo JA (2015) Survey for protozoan parasites in eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from the Gulf of Maine using PCR-based assays. Parasitology International. 64(5): 299-302.
Pershing AJ, Mills KE, Record NR, Stamieszkin K, Wurtzell K, Byron C, Fitzpatrick D, Golet W, Koob E (2015) Evaluating trophic cascades as drivers of regime shifts in different ocean ecosystems. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 370: 20130265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0265
Runge AJ, Ji R, Thompson C, Record NR, Maps F, Chen C, Salisbury J, Vandemark D (2014) Persistence of Calanus finmarchicus in the western Gulf of Maine during recent extreme warming. J Plank. Res. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbu098
Fernández Robledo JA, Vasta GR, Record NR(2014) Protozoan parasites of bivalve molluscs: literature follows culture. PLoS ONE, 9(6): e100872
Record NR, Pershing AJ, Maps F (2014) Plankton post-paradox. ICES J. Mar. Sci. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fst213
Maps F, Record NR, Pershing AJ (2014) A metabolic approach to dormancy in pelagic copepods helps explaining inter- and intra-specific variability in life-history strategies. J Plank. Res. 36 (1), 18-30.
Record NR, Pershing AJ, Maps F (2013) Emergent copepod communities in an adaptive trait-structured model. Ecol Model. 260: 11-24.
Record NR, Pershing AJ, Maps F (2013) The paradox of “the paradox of the plankton”. ICES J. Mar. Sci. DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fst049
Lehuta S, Petitgas P, Mahévas S, Huret M, Vermard Y, Uriarte A, Record NR(2013) Selection and validation of a complex fishery model using an uncertainty hierarchy. Fish. Res. 143: 57-66.
Barton AD, Pershing AJ, Litchman E, Record NR, Edwards KF, Finkel ZV, Kiørboe T, Ward BA.(2013) The biogoegraphy of marine plankton traits. Ecol. Lett. 16: 522–534.
Record NR, Pershing AJ, Maps F (2012) First principles of copepod development help explain global marine diversity pattern. Oecologia. 170(2): 289-295.
Pendleton DE, Sullivan PJ, Brown MW, Cole TVN, Good CP, Mayo CA, Monger BC, Phillips S, Record NR, Pershing AJ (2012) Weekly predictions of North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis habitat reveal influence of prey abundance and seasonality of habitat preferences. Endanger. Species Res. 18: 147-161.
Maps F, Pershing AJ, Record NR(2012) A generalized approach for simulating growth and development in diverse marine copepod species. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 69(3): 370-379.
Maps F, Runge JA, Leising A, Pershing AJ, Record NR, Plourde S, Pierson JJ (2012) Modeling the timing and duration of dormancy in populations of Calanus finmarchicus from the northwest Atlantic shelf. J. Plank. Res. 34(1): 36-54.

2006-2010

Record NR, Pershing AJ, Jossi JW (2010) Biodiversity as a dynamic variable in the Gulf of Maine continuous plankton recorder transect. J. Plank. Res. 32(12): 1675-1684.
Record NR, Pershing AJ, Runge JA, Mayo CA, Monger BC, Chen C (2010) Improving ecological forecasts of copepod community dynamics using genetic algorithms. J. Mar. Sys. 82(3): 96-110.
Pershing AJ, Christensen LB, Record NR, Sherwood GD, Stetson PB (2010) The Impact of Whaling on the Ocean Carbon Cycle: Why Bigger Was Better. PLoS ONE 5(8): e12444.
Runge JA, 19 others, Record NR(2010) Understanding climate impacts on recruitment and spatial dynamics of Atlantic cod in the Gulf of Maine: Integration of observations and modeling. Prog. Oceanog. 87: 251–263
Pershing AJ, Record NR, Monger BC, Pendleton DE, Woodard LA (2009) Model-based estimates of Calanus finmarchicus abundance in the Gulf of Maine. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 378: 227-243
Pershing AJ, Record NR, Monger BC, Mayo CA, Brown MW, Cole TVN, Kenney RD, Pendleton DE, Woodard LA (2009) Model-based estimates of right whale habitat use. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 378: 245-257
Pendleton DE, Pershing AJ, Brown MW, Mayo CA, Kenney RD, Record NR, Cole TVN (2009) Regional scale mean matters: mean copepod concentration indicates relative abundance of North Atlantic right whales. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 378:211-225
Record NR, Pershing AJ (2008) Modeling zooplankton development using the monotonic upstream scheme for conservation laws. Limnol. Oceanogr. Methods. 6: 364-372.
Roth V, Ivanchenko V, Record NR(2007) Evaluating student response to WeBWorK, a Web-Based Homework Delivery and Grading System. Computers & Education 50:1462-1482.
Davoren GK, May C, Penton P, Reinfort B, Buren A, Burke C, Andrews D, Montevecchi WA, Record NR, de Young B, Rose-Taylor C, Bell T, Anderson JT, Koen-Alonso M, Garthe S (2007) An Ecosystem-Based Research Program for Capelin (Mallotus villosus) in the Northwest Atlantic:Overview and Results. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., 39: 35–48.
Record NR, de Young B (2006) Patterns of diel vertical migration of zooplankton in historical acoustic Doppler velocity and backscatter data on the Newfoundland Shelf. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 63: 2708-2721.