STRI FELLOW
Recently, I have completed my PhD at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. During my doctoral studies, I have investigated the effects of ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation on the Mediterranean ecosystem, by reconstructing plankton and mesopelagic fish dynamics beyond the temporal scale of instrumental records. With the STRI short-term fellowship, I would like to build on my PhD research, and further investigate the impacts of ongoing ocean deoxygenation on mesopelagic fish energetics. To do so, I am using their otoliths (ear-stones) which accumulate on the seafloor after they die. Comparing otolith morphometry and chemistry from either site of the Isthmus of Panama allows me to determine if mesopelagic fish body size, growth and habitat depth is affected in oxygen deprived waters, such as the pronounced Oxygen Minimum Zone off the coast of Panama in the Pacific Ocean. My research is driven by a fascination of these tiny, often overlooked but incredibly important fish, as they play a vital role in ocean food webs, carbon cycling and sustaining aquacultures.
O'Dea Lab 
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