National Marine Fisheries Service

07/31/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/31/2024 10:57

Meet Erin Winslow, Marine Habitat Resource Specialist

Erin has worked at NOAA since early 2024, when she joined the Office of Habitat Conservationas a marine habitat subject matter expert, conducting Essential Fish Habitatconsultations. She focuses on national programmatic consultations and also leads consultations in the Pacific Islands and Southeast regions.

Where did you grow up?

San Diego, California.

What is your educational background?

I completed three degrees at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2013, I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in aquatic biology. While completing this degree, I interned for the Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Research Projectand spent a summer working as a research diver intern in Moorea, French Polynesia.

I then received a Masters in Environmental Science and Management in coastal resource management and strategic environmental communication. My thesis was titled "Planning and Incentivizing Native Olympia Oyster Restoration in Southern California Wetlands."

For my doctorate, I returned to focusing on corals (my true love) and studied the impact of heat stress on corals and their associated predators.

Following my Ph.D., I moved to Washington D.C. for a Sea Grant Knauss Fellowshipin 2023 where I worked with the Deputy Assistant Director of Ecological Services at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I finally made my way to NOAA (always the goal!) in 2024 in my current position.

Can you describe a time when you were surprised by fish and/or habitat?

Much of my Ph.D. work was focused on the association of butterflyfish with corals in the Indo-Pacific. The reliance of certain reef fish species with 3D structure (habitat) is fascinating to observe. I was once completing a snorkel survey of coral cover at one of my sites and a teardrop butterflyfish hung out with me, hovering just above my underwater clipboard/data sheet, for more than an hour. It is one of my favorite moments underwater.