Meagan Dunphy-Daly

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT MEAGAN DUNPHY-DALY

I am a marine conservationist and Associate Dean in the Nicholas School of the Environment. I direct the Nicholas School Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, which provides undergraduate students with intensive, hands-on mentored research opportunities. I also teach and mentor undergraduate scholars and graduate students. My research program focuses on 1) using big data to inform policy decisions and 2) outreach programs based in experiential learning to enhance diversity in STEM careers. My newest research is on plastic pollution. I co-founded and lead the Duke University Plastic Pollution Working Group and a research team focused on solving the plastic pollution problem. I also have developed multiple outreach initiatives to increase diversity in STEM fields and provide high school students with the tools and experience to be successful in college and beyond. These programs also engage the public and various external stakeholders. Prior to joining Duke University as faculty, I completed a Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA\'s) Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. As a Congressional Affairs Fellow, I represented and defended NOAA’s positions on national and international marine, wildlife, conservation, Arctic, and fisheries-related issues to Congress.I received my Ph.D. from Duke University under Dr. Andy Read in 2015 as a NMFS-Sea Grant Population Dynamic Fellow. My dissertation research focused on the effectiveness of marine reserves for pelagic predators, such as sharks, tuna, and billfish. During my time in coastal North Carolina, I also carried out a field project investigating the abundance and habitat use of bull sharks in the Neuse River Estuary. Before beginning my doctoral studies at Duke, my Master’s Degree research focused on the spatio-temporal variation in dwarf sperm whale habitat use and group size off of Abaco Island in the Bahamas. After completing my Master’s Degree fieldwork, I conducted research in the seagrass ecosystem of Shark Bay, Western Australia to study the non-lethal effects of tiger sharks on multiple prey species (dolphins, marine turtles, dugongs, stingrays, cormorants, sea snakes). Additionally, I carried out research in the Florida Everglades to study factors driving the distribution of bull sharks. I also conducted a laboratory study of the influence of predation risk on the diving behavior of red-eared slider turtles.