UNCW Assistant Professor of Biology and Marine Biology Matthew McLean and doctoral student Adrian Gonzalez-Ortiz have received a $400,000 NSF EMBRACE (EMpowering BRoader Academic Capacity and Education) grant. 

They will use the funds for the project “The Dynamics and Drivers of Fish-Mediated Ecosystem Functions in European Seas.”

Their research will be conducted during two research cruises in the North Sea in January and September 2025 and through laboratory and data analysis at UNCW over the next four years. Specifically, they will assess how fish assemblages in European Seas contribute to ecosystem processes such as nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and whether this is being impacted by climate change or fishing pressure.  
 
"This research is critical for informing ecosystem-based management and determining how to best protect the health of marine ecosystems in a dynamic and changing environment," said McLean, who has taught at UNCW since January 2023. He spearheads the McLean Lab, a research group focused on the ecology and conservation of fish communities in ecosystems, ranging from coral reefs to estuaries and coastal shelf seas. 
 
Gonzalez-Ortiz is part of the lab team. His area of study is marine ecology, and he is slated to graduate in 2028. 
 
For McLean, securing this funding satisfies a career goal. “I came to UNCW for the opportunity to conduct research in a coastal marine environment among a world-class group of faculty and to teach students who are passionate about marine biology careers,” he said.