Mark Oates, M.S. Student

Mark Oates
After receiving my B.S. in both Marine Science and Biology from the University of Miami, I decided to trade corals reefs for kelp forests and move west. I have harbored a passion for biology since my first year of high school and it didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to pursue a career in research. OIMB’s proximity to the coast and small community were exactly what I needed in a research institution. I have participated in research pertaining to wetland paleoecology, reef fish developmental ecology, and now bivalve reproductive biology. I am currently studying gametogenesis and spawning periodicity within Coos Bay populations of the Olympia oyster. My work is part of a collaborative effort to provide a clearer ecological/developmental understanding of an organism that has seen extensive and drastic population declines in the last century. Ultimately, my findings will contribute a body of knowledge used to inform restoration efforts across the west coast of North America.

Amy Burgess