Spatial ecology of marine predators plays an important role in the management and sustainability of marine ecosystems. Dr. Maxwell will illustrate examples of the interplay of spatial ecology and management in Central West Africa and the US West Coast, focusing on a broad suite of marine predators including sea turtles, whales and pinnipeds. Additionally, she will demonstrate how concepts including cumulatitive impacts, marine spatial planning and dynamic ocean management are critical considerations for management of marine predators and ecosystems.

Dr. Sara Maxwell completed her Bacholor's degree at the University of Florida in Wildlife Ecology, and her Ph.D. at the University of California Santa Cruz in Ocean Sciences under Dr. Daniel Costa, looking at effectiveness of marine protected areas for top marine predators. She completed postdocs at the Marine Conservation Institute in Seattle, WA, working with NOAA to determine management strategies for the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument — then the largest MPA in the world — and at the Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station, laying the framework for dynamic ocean management as a means of managing mobile marine systems. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Biological Sciences Department at Old Dominion University and was awarded a 2016 Sloan Fellowship, awarded to early career scientists in 'recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field'.

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