Lucas Iudica (Undergraduate Researcher) – I’m interested in using acoustic telemetry and DNA metabarcoding to better understand the diet and feeding ecology of migratory sharks as they interact with nearshore and estuarine systems on the South shore of Long Island. For my senior thesis, I am assembling a seasonal dietary niche for juvenile Dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) by utilizing rRNA metabarcoding to target and identify species-specific genetic markers in fecal material.
Though my current involvement in the lab consists of internal acoustic tagging, acoustic receiver servicing, and receiver deployment, I started volunteering online during the Fall of 2020 … and I haven’t left ever since! Outside of work, I’m a senior Marine Vertebrate Bio major at Stony Brook, I enjoy playing mandolin, and am an avid rock climber. On a sunny day, you can find me at Smith Point County Park listening to an episode of the Magnus Archives.