Rocco Earns Ph.D.

Congratulations to NC State PhD student, Alex Rocco, who has successfully defended his PhD research titled, “Innovative Modeling Approaches for Assessing and Predicting Life History and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of North Carolina’s Blue Crab Stock under Emerging Threats”.  Rocco conducted his research through the Department of Applied Ecology under Dr. Jie Cao.

Before pursuing his doctoral degree, Rocco graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Tennessee Tech University, and with an M.S. in Biology from Jacksonville State University in 2020. His master’s thesis involved the behavioral ecology of crayfish.  He says this experience with ecological relationships at the individual level led him to pursue an individual-based model project advertised by the Cao lab at NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST).

Rocco says, “My [doctoral] research used a mark-recapture survey to evaluate the North Carolina blue crab’s life history; a species distribution model to estimate how the population’s distribution changes depending on environmental factors; and an individual-based model to simulate how the population is affected by temperature shifts and estrogen pollution.”

According to Rocco, his study resulted in estimated North Carolina blue crab seasonal growth, survival, and carapace width-to-weight relationships.  His work also, “Identified environmental factors contributing to high blue crab densities and determined that blue crabs are vulnerable to temperature shifts and estrogen pollution over time.”

Rocco indicates that this information can be used to assist in future North Carolina blue crab stock assessment management. He says, “The blue crab stock in North Carolina is tricky; despite being overfished and overfishing occurring, the fishery is the most valuable in the state and is important to the food culture of eastern North Carolina. Blue crabs are also an important food source for other animals. I think we’re moving in the right direction in terms of management, but I expect that the stock will be slow to recover moving forward.”

Rocco plans to pursue a career as a fisheries scientist.  When asked what the most rewarding aspect of his work has been so far, Rocco says, “Being able to work closely with other scientists, graduate students, and experts in their fields has been extremely rewarding. I couldn’t have done this without the support of the CMAST community and the other universities and agencies in Morehead City.”