Melissa LaCroce
Research Specialist
Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST)
252-222-6322 [email protected]Bio
Melissa LaCroce is interested in community and benthic ecology as well as habitat conservation. She received her MS in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. There she studied the seasonality and recruitment of the epibenthic community in Onslow Bay, North Carolina. She also received her graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Additionally, Melissa is a certified scuba divemaster, technical diver, and an AAUS diver since 2016.
As the research specialist in the Marine Ecology and Conservation Lab she assists all current and future students with their projects, helps with training of new divers, and spearheads all field work within the lab. You can reach out to her to inquire about what it is like to be in the Eggleston lab, for assistance with boating, and to contract her for professional diving operations.
Education
B.A. Environmental Studies Manhattanville College 2011
M.S. Marine Science University of North Carolina at Wilmington 2017
Publications
- Data from: Otter trawl fish and blue crab survey results from the 2022-2023 Beaufort Inlet, NC, USA dredge project , DRYAD (2026)
- Epibenthic species traits demonstrate how macroalgal decline degrades temperate reef function , (2025)
- Patterns and Processes Underlying Spatiotemporal Variation in Bay Scallop (Argopecten irradians concentricus) Density and Size Structure within Three North Carolina Sounds , Journal of Shellfish Research (2023)