Sarah Donelan

Sarah Donelan, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she conducts research on environmental adaptation in marine ecosystems. Her work bridges marine ecology, climate change impacts, and evolutionary biology within the College of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Donelan's research program focuses on transgenerational plasticity and carryover effects in marine organisms, particularly examining how environmental stressors impact coastal marine systems including rocky intertidal shores and oyster reefs. Her work investigates how plasticity within and across generations facilitates acclimation and adaptation to environmental stress, with particular attention to the evolutionary and ecological consequences of phenotypic variation.

• Research funded by $215,690 from University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
• $304,351 grant from National Science Foundation for climate change stressor research
• Specializes in marine ecology and climate change impacts on coastal organisms
• Investigates predation risk interactions with environmental stressors

Dr. Donelan is committed to creating a supportive research environment where all people and perspectives are welcomed. Her lab actively explores mechanisms and consequences of multiple climate change stressors across stages of ontogeny in marine organisms, particularly oysters.