- Graduate Student, Strader Lab
- Email: stephaniehendricks@tamu.edu
Research Interests
- Ecology
- Global Change
- Invertebrates
- Marine Biology
- Plasticity
I am broadly interested in studying the role of the environment in shaping marine invertebrate traits. Some of my current projects include investigating thermal tolerance through gene expression plasticity to enable selective breeding in a staghorn coral along Ningaloo Coast, Western Australia and investigating the role of temperature on the establishment of the microbiome and consequences for larval infection in the purple sea urchin. Further, I am interested in how increased temperature impacts the upside-down jellyfish’s sleep-like behavior.
Educational Background
- B.S. Marine Biology, Summa Cum Laude, Texas A&M University Galveston, 2018-2021
- Ph.D. Biology, Texas A&M University College Station, 2022-Present
Selected Publications
Publications:
Genomic signatures of coral adaptation and recovery following a mass mortality event – Science Advances, 12/2024
Enhancement of coral heat tolerance using selective breeding along the Ningaloo World Heritage reefs – Proceedings B, 1/2025
Presentations:
2025
The role of temperature on the establishment of the microbiome and consequences for larval infection
Texas A&M University Student/Postdoc Research Conference, College Station, TX – Poster
2024
Investigating the natural variability of molecular responses to thermal stress in Acropora tenuis larvae from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
University of Houston Southeast Texas Evolutionary Genetics & Genomics (STEGG) Symposium, Houston, TX – Poster
Texas A&M University Computing Symposium, College Station, TX – Poster
Texas A&M University Biological & Chemical Symposium, College Station, TX – Poster
Symbiont communities of juvenile Acropora hyacinthus remain stable following a mass mortality event in Mo’orea but contribute to bleaching severity
Texas A&M University Ecological Integration Symposium (EIS), College Station, TX – Poster
Texas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX – Poster
Texas A&M University Darwin Day, College Station, TX – Poster
Texas A&M University Student/Postdoc Research Conference, College Station, TX – Poster
2023
Symbiont communities of juvenile Acropora hyacinthus remain stable following a mass mortality event in Mo’orea but contribute to bleaching severity
Texas A&M University Eco-Evo Retreat, Austin, TX – Talk