Student Blogs & Vignettes

Mostafa Soliman

ABOUT MY RESEARCH

My name is Mostafa Soliman. I am PhD student working at the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing lab under the advisement of Prof. Muller-Karger. I earned my master’s degree by assessing the status of two sea turtle habitats in the Red Sea. I used satellite imagery and field surveys and found declining nesting numbers that may be related to anthropogenic activities in areas north of my study site. This has broadened my perspective on spatial scales, leading me to expand this idea from single species to entire ecosystems. Currently, I am interested in learning how biodiversity and ecosystems respond to anthropogenic activities and shifting climate trends, including structure and function. I will use remote sensing data to develop climate change indictors in national marine sanctuaries. These indicators will inform us about the health of national marine sanctuaries through space and time.

WHY USF CMS?

First, I came to know CMS through a friend when I was in Egypt. He introduced me to Prof. Muller-Karger, who accepted me as an intern for six months in 2016. That opportunity exposed to data analysis and research cruises. I really liked the atmosphere of the college. Everybody here was very helpful and encouraging in my educational journey. Later, in 2020, I was awarded a fellowship from Egypt, and I knew that coming back to CMS would be a perfect fit. It wasn’t until 2022 that my dream of returning was finally realized.