@article{rocco_cao_li_lee_2024, title={Evaluating impacts of environmental stress and bioactive chemicals on the North Carolina blue crab population: An individual-based model}, volume={16}, ISSN={["1942-5120"]}, DOI={10.1002/mcf2.10286}, abstractNote={Abstract Objective Recent estimates of the North Carolina blue crab Callinectes sapidus stock found that the stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring. Threats outlined in the 2018 stock assessment include climate change and estrogenic endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EEDCs). The objective of this study was to use an individual‐based modeling approach to simulate the long‐term effects of climate change and EEDCs on the North Carolina blue crab stock. Methods To do this, we built an individual‐based model that simulated the life history of individual blue crabs, including but not limited to growth, reproduction, and mortality. We then tested our population of blue crabs against 30 different combinations of temperature and EEDC scenarios over 50 years to determine the long‐term effects on the population. Result Our simulations suggested that the North Carolina blue crab population may be relatively resilient to climate change‐related temperature shifts but that there may be significant impacts at the population level as summer temperatures become more extreme. Endocrine‐disrupting chemical effects resulted in an alternative stable state of lower catch or the total extinction of the population. Conclusion These results suggest that management strategy changes may be necessary as temperatures become more extreme in the region. In addition, more research is necessary to fully understand the effects of EEDCs on blue crabs and other crustaceans at the individual and population level.}, number={2}, journal={MARINE AND COASTAL FISHERIES}, author={Rocco, Alex J. and Cao, Jie and Li, Yan and Lee, Laura M.}, year={2024}, month={Apr} }
 @article{damiano_wager_rocco_shertzer_murray_cao_2023, title={Integrating information from semi-structured interviews into management strategy evaluation: a case study for Southeast United States marine fisheries (vol 9, 1063260, 2022)}, volume={10}, ISSN={["2296-7745"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmars.2023.1205418}, abstractNote={COPYRIGHT © 2023 Damiano, Wager, Rocco, Shertzer, Murray and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. TYPE Correction PUBLISHED 16 May 2023 DOI 10.3389/fmars.2023.1205418}, journal={FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE}, author={Damiano, Matthew and Wager, Bethany and Rocco, Alex and Shertzer, Kyle W. W. and Murray, Grant D. D. and Cao, Jie}, year={2023}, month={May} }
 @article{rocco_wofford-mares_2022, title={Comparing the dynamics of agonistic interactions between the native crayfish Faxonius erichsonianus Faxon, 1898 and the invasive F. virilis Hagen, 1870 (Decapoda: Astacidea: Cambaridae)}, volume={42}, ISSN={["1937-240X"]}, DOI={10.1093/jcbiol/ruac023}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY}, author={Rocco, Alex J. and Wofford-Mares, Sarah J.}, year={2022}, month={Jun} }
 @article{damiano_wager_rocco_shertzer_murray_cao_2022, title={Integrating information from semi-structured interviews into management strategy evaluation: a case study for Southeast United States marine fisheries}, volume={9}, ISSN={["2296-7745"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmars.2022.1063260}, abstractNote={Management strategy evaluation (MSE) has become a more common tool for engaging stakeholders in fisheries management, and stakeholder participation in MSE is increasingly recognized as a vital component of the process. The participation of stakeholders, specifically fishers, in MSE is of particular importance because they often possess intimate knowledge of the socio-ecological management system that MSE seeks to model. When the resources to conduct a “full” MSE with direct fisher involvement are unavailable, MSEs are sometimes conducted by desk-based analysts with no fisher engagement. We propose an intermediate framework in which information collected from semi-structured interviews is used to inform a “desk-based” MSE. We demonstrate that semi-structured interviews with commercial and recreational fishers can elicit some of the same kinds of information that fishers provide during direct participation in MSE. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with commercial and recreational fishers from the Southeast United States participating in either Atlantic cobia (Rachycentron canadum) or black sea bass (Centropristis striata) fisheries. We collected primarily qualitative and some quantitative information about preferred conceptual objectives and management measures, and how their fishing behavior has changed in response to past management action. Commercial fishers generally preferred conceptual objectives and management measures that align with traditional MSY-based fisheries management, while recreational fishers’ responses were substantially more heterogeneous, indicating a more diverse range of desired objectives and preferred management measures. We synthesized this information to develop a suite of management procedures that employ a range of fishing mortality-based constant-catch harvest control rules and size-based management measures for simulation testing against preferred objectives by sector. We demonstrate that integrating information from semi-structured interviews with MSE in this way offers a cost-effective alternative intermediate approach to fisher participation in MSE when direct participation is not possible.}, journal={Frontiers in Marine Science}, author={Damiano, M. and Wager, B. and Rocco, A. and Shertzer, K. and Murray, G. and Cao, J.}, year={2022} }