Ecology and Evolution, Florida State University

Sophie McCoy, Ph.D.

I completed my PhD in Biological Science at Florida State University in August 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Don Levitan. My dissertation investigated mechanisms of intraspecific variation in response to variable environments in tropical octocoral species from the US Virgin Islands, as well as a temperate octocoral species from the Gulf of Mexico. I investigated intraspecific variation in polyp morphology and utilized carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses to quantify trophic strategy differences through shifts in reliance on heterotrophic feeding and autotrophic endosymbionts in relation to polyp tentacle lengths. Then, to isolate intraspecific variation of the host in response to environmental variation, independent from autotrophic endosymbionts, I studied phenotypic plasticity in a temperate, heterotrophic octocoral species in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. At UNC, I am working with Dr. Sophie McCoy in the Biology Department to investigate mechanisms of intraspecific variation and its influence on community dynamics, using both freshwater and marine microbial communities. While at FSU, I also completed a Master’s in College STEM Teaching and served as Instructor of Record for a CURE-style field course. Both this formal training and experience in the classroom fostered and propelled my love of teaching and mentoring, which I am excited to continue to develop through the SPIRE program.