Nicholas Coleman

NOAA-EPP LMRCSC Master’s Fellow 
M.S., Environmental Science, Graduated
University of Maryland Center Environmental Science-IMET

Nicholas Coleman earned a Master’s Degree from the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, where he studies ecological systems and fisheries biology. Co-advised by Dr. Rose Jargus and Dr. David Secor, Nicholas’ research used acoustic telemetry and acoustic imagery to estimate the population size of Atlantic sturgeon in the Marshyhope Creek, a tributary of the Nanticoke River. Atlantic sturgeon were once considered to be completely dissipated in the Chesapeake Bay. Nicholas’ research provided fisheries managers with accurate population estimates for Atlantic sturgeon in the Marshyhope Creek, which serves as a spawning area for this endangered species. In 2018, he participated in a summer internship at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland. In 2019, he completed an internship at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, Virginia. Nicholas graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science.

Nicholas has since graduated and works as an Environmental Policy Analyst in the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Domestic Fisheries Division, Fisheries Ecosystems and Management Branch at NOAA.

NERTO Project Title: 
Using DIDSON surveys to understand habitat use and annual variations in spawning run size for sDSP Green sturgeon in the Sacramento River.

NOAA Mentor: Dr. Peter Dudley and Dr. Steve Lindley

Academic Advisor: Dr. David Secor

Publications/Presentations

  1. Coleman, N.C. & Burge, E.J. Association behavior between sand tiger sharks and round scad is driven by mesopredators. PeerJ. In review.
  2. Coleman, N.,C., Secor, D.,H., and Lankowicz, K. (2021). Using Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar (ARIS) to estimate the spawning run of Atlantic sturgeon in the Nanticoke River. Presented virtually at the American Fisheries Society 151 Biannual Meeting, November 2021.
  3. Coleman, N.,C. (2021). Using acoustic imagery to estimate the abundance of green sturgeon in the Sacramento River. LMRCSC Graduate Student Seminar, October 2021.
  4. Coleman, N.,C. (2021) Estimating the abundance of green sturgeon in the Sacramento River. Presented virtually at University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Graduate Education Council (GEC) Seminar, October 2021.
  5. Coleman, N.C. (2021).Presentation to 2021 IMET Undergraduate Interns. Update on NERTO Experience and Navigating Graduate School. Presented virtually, June 2021.
  6. Coleman, N.C., Dudley, P. (2021) Estimating Green Sturgeon Abundance in the Sacramento River using DIDSON survey Methods. Presented virtually at the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) Sturgeon Project Work Team 2021 Meeting July, 2021. Oral Presentation.
  7. Secor, D.H., M.H.P. O’Brien, N. Coleman, A. Horne, I. Park, D.C. Kazyak, D.G. Bruce, C. Stence. Atlantic sturgeon status and movement ecology in an extremely small spawning habitat: The Nanticoke-Marshyhope Creek Estuary, Chesapeake Bay. Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture. In review.
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