Matthew Ramirez

NOAA-EPP LMRCSC Doctoral Graduate
Ph.D., Fisheries Science
Oregon State University

Matthew Ramirez earned his Ph.D in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University in Spring 2020. Under the advisement of Dr. Selina Heppell, Matthew’s research is focused on quantifying the influence of multiple environmental (diet, habitat use, density) and anthropogenic stressors (oil spills) on Kemp’s ridley sea turtle somatic growth rates and population dynamics, using a combination of laboratory and quantitative techniques.  Matthew received his bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Auburn University and a master’s degree in Fisheries Science from Oregon State University.

Matthew is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rhode Island.

NERTO Project Title:  Integration of habitat-specific growth variation into assessment models: a case study in the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

NOAA Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey E. Moore, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA

Academic Advisor: Dr. Selina Heppell

Publications/Presentations

  1. Ramirez, M.D., Miller, J.A., Parks, E., Avens, L., Seminoff, J. A., Goshe, L.R., & Heppell, S.S. (2019). Trace element analysis of sea turtle humeri using LA-ICP-MS: applications to life history reconstruction. Marine Ecology Progress Series (In Press).
  2. Ramirez, M.D., L. Avens, J.A. Seminoff, L.R. Goshe, & S.S. Heppell. 2017. Growth dynamics of loggerhead sea turtles undergoing ontogenetic habitat shifts. Oecologia. 183 (4): 1087-1099
  3. Popovska, T, E. Babcock & M.D. Ramirez, L Avens, LR Goshe, and SS Heppell. (2019). A meta-analysis of somatic growth in sea turtles. Presented at the International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Charleston, SC.
  4. Ramirez, M.D., L Avens, LR Goshe, ML Snover, & SS Heppell. (2019). Density-independent decline in Kemp’s ridley somatic growth rates following the Deepwater horizon oil spill. International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Charleston, SC.
  5. Ramirez, M.D., Avens, L. & Heppell, S.S. (2018). Intra-population variation in resource use by Kemp’s ridley sea turtles revealed through combined skeletal and stable isotope analyses. Presented at the 11th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (IsoEcol 2018), Viña del Mar, Chile.
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