Yasmina Shah Esmaeili, PhD

Education

B.Sc., Biology, Ghent University (Belgium), 2013

M.Sc., Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management, Ghent/Antwerp/Brussels University (Belgium), 2016

Ph.D., Ecology, State University of Campinas (Brazil), 2023

Research Interests

The main goal of my research is to investigate how and why ecological communities (primarily animals) are changing in the Anthropocene. I focus on applying new technologies to make my investigations more cost effective, efficient, scalable, and comparable across coastal ecosystems. I work in many coastal habitats, including sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangroves, and reefs, and do so in different parts of the world. I therefore identify myself as a community ecologist with a broad interest in the structure of animal communities, what drives changes in their composition, and how we as scientists can provide decision-makers with insight to aid in marine conservation.

As a postdoc in the Rasher lab, my role is to investigate the patterns and drivers of biodiversity change within Maine’s kelp forests using a combination of visual observations and molecular tools, with an aim to reveal how these changes lead to shifts in ecosystem functioning. My work contributes to the overall mission of Bigelow to understand our surrounding ecosystems and to provide knowledge that is needed to identify and mitigate the changes that are rapidly occurring in light of climate change.