Allison Tracy

• Disease in marine and estuarine ecosystems
• The microbiome in health and disease amidst shifting environments
• Biodiversity in valuable coastal habitats
• Applying ecological insights to aquaculture, fisheries, and restoration

Research in the Tracy Lab focuses on health and disease, with a particular emphasis on fished species and species that build habitat (“foundation species”). Fished species are excellent study systems because they unite ecological and economic value, while also providing opportunities to work with rich datasets. Understanding the conditions that promote healthy populations of foundation species is important because they build reefs that support biodiversity, ecosystem services, and coastal economies.

One of our primary questions is how changing environments affect host-symbiont interactions in marine and estuarine species. For example, we study how parasitic infections and host immunity respond to warming oceans, metal pollution, co-infecting parasites, and fisheries management. Our work on oysters explores how the bacterial microbiome varies across environmental gradients, intending to determine how host-microbe interactions contribute to host health, productivity, and disease. Research in the Tracy Lab also studies ecosystem health from the perspective of habitat and biodiversity, including on oyster reefs and submerged aquatic
vegetation (SAV) beds in Chesapeake Bay. We welcome diverse collaborations and employ many tools, including field surveys, field and mesocosm experiments, histology, remote sensing, spatial analyses in GIS, molecular biology, and genetics. While our research addresses fundamental ecological questions, we also value applying the results by engaging with community members, resource managers, aquaculture professionals, and other interested stakeholders.

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