Titcomb, Max

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I work on applied projects within the areas of fisheries management, historical ecology, and conservation biology. Specifically, my research focuses on using statistical tools and historical records to understand long-term changes in marine population dynamics and ecosystems. 

Current Projects

Ongoing projects are focused within the Caribbean and California Coastal Ecosystem:

• Using citizen science data and spatiotemporal modeling approaches to show three decades of change in Caribbean grouper/shark population dynamics. 
• Collecting gravity/kasten cores from anoxic waters in the Santa Barbara Basin and, using sedimentary eDNA, to reconstruct how populations of small pelagic fish and their planktonic prey assemblage vary across the last two thousand years. 
• Communicating long-term population trends of fish in Florida's aquarium fishery through integrating catch & fisheries independent surveys.  I will assess changes in the abundance and richness of ornamental species across areas with variable habitat protection statuses and degrees of harvesting.

DEGREES/Skills

B.S. Molecular Environmental Biology – Ecology concentration | University of California, Berkeley | 2018 – 2022  
Minor in Geospatial Information Science and Technology | University of California, Berkeley | 2018 – 2022

I have quantitative strengths in R programming, spatiotemporal modeling, and geographic information systems; along with field training consisting of AAUS Scientific Diver and Motorboat Operator Training Course (MOTC) completion.