Mary Beth Decker

Mary Beth Decker is a Lecturer at Yale University, affiliated with KROON HALL. Her research focuses on marine ecosystems, particularly the ecological roles of jellyfish, climate change impacts on marine species, and the dynamics of invasive species. She investigates how environmental factors like hypoxia, ocean warming, and sea-ice loss influence zooplankton communities, fisheries, and predator-prey interactions in regions such as the Bering Sea, Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Her work integrates field observations, modeling, and genetic analyses to address large-scale ecological questions.

Key research themes include: jellyfish bloom mechanisms, climate-driven species redistribution, and the interplay between human activities and marine systems. She has explored how jellyfish and forage fish compete for resources, how invasive ctenophores like Mnemiopsis leidyi establish in new habitats, and the cascading effects of hypoxia on estuarine food webs.

Her publications highlight recurring interests in trophic interactions (e.g., jellyfish-fish competition), physical-biological linkages (e.g., oceanographic drivers of species distribution), and applied conservation questions (e.g., fisheries management in changing ecosystems). Recent work emphasizes spatial-temporal patterns of species abundance under climate change scenarios.

No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned in the provided texts. Her advising record is not detailed here, but her research collaborations are evident in multi-institutional projects like studies on Bering Sea ecosystems and Chesapeake Bay hypoxia impacts.