Ashley Ruffo Email & Phone Number

Erie, Pa, Us

Olean, New York, United States

St Croix, Us Virgin Islands And Dry Tortugas National Park, Fl

• Participated in snorkeling, free diving, and secluded nesting beach patrols to capture ESA-listed sea turtles to monitor turtle health and track residential and transient movements at Buck Island Reef National Monument, US Virgin Islands, and the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL.• Recorded body metric data and collected biological samples from sea turtles (tissue, blood, carapace, stomach contents, and eggs).• Applied acoustic tags and satellite transmitters to track spatial distribution, migration patterns, and site fidelity.• Traveled to remote locations for field work.

Benezette

• Served as a dog handler to address a public safety issue of elk/human interactions in Benezette, PA. Tasks included routine site visitation to harass elk, dog care, and trail camera setup, maintenance, and photo review.

Virgin Islands (U.S.)

• Served as the USVI fisheries liaison in support of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) to effectively conduct interdisciplinary research projects with federal and local partners around St Croix, including assessing the juvenile fish community in mangroves and tracking reef fish movements to assess habitat utilization and spatial movement patterns, resulting in scientific publication. • Supported local and national coral reef initiatives by working closely with researchers, including NOAA National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Marine Spatial Ecology Division, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFC), National Parks Service (NPS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC), USVI Department of Planning and National Resources (DPNR), University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), and other coral reef and fisheries stakeholders. • Provided technical assistance and field support in coral reef ecosystem conservation and planning, restoration ecology, fisheries biology and management, and marine protected areas, including logistical planning, small boat operation, snorkeling, scientific diving, data collection, literature reviews, and preparation of scientific presentations and publications.• Completed NOAA Dive Program training. • Collected field data under NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) protocols for coral demographics and benthic community assessment in the Caribbean under NOAA dive safety protocols. • Reviewed water development projects and provided conservation recommendations to avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential impacts on Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. • Served as the data management team lead for the Virgin Islands Coral Disease Advisory Committee (VI-CDAC) to track and map the spatial spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) around the US Virgin Islands using ArcGIS.

St Thomas

• Led independent field investigations for the purpose of scientific research to advise fisheries management rules and regulations and to report fish population status and fish movements.• Captured reef fish including species of parrotfish, grouper, triggerfish, and snapper for meristics and acoustic tagging to track fish movements and habitat utilization.• Performed surgeries to implant acoustic transmitters, inserted PIT tags, and collected fin clippings and scales from various fish species. • Managed the deployment and maintenance of Vemco hydroacoustic receivers.• Participated in fishing trips with researchers and local fishers.• Coordinated and oversaw parrotfish foraging, fish abundance and benthic habitat field surveys.• Administered logistical planning, boat and dive operations, and GPS navigation. • Performed video analysis using Coral Point Count with Excel Extensions (CPCe) to identify benthic habitat composition.• Reviewed ROV video footage of yellowfin grouper to quantify spawning behaviors at a fish spawning aggregation located south of St Thomas, USVI. • Responsible for data collection, management, and analyses, as well as scientific and technical writing and presentations.• Contributed to the Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program (TCRMP) by conducting fish and benthic dive surveys.

St Croix

• Implemented coral reef health assessment monitoring (AGRRA method) for territorial and federal annual and bi-annual monitoring. • Administered monitoring of ESA-listed threatened Acroporid coral species.• Performed water quality monitoring through use of YSI equipment, as well as data collection and management• Oversaw logistical planning, boat and dive operations, boat trailering, and GPS navigation.

St Croix

• Collected water samples from the Bioluminescent Bay in Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve from a kayak with a Niskin bottle to identify phytoplankton community composition, along with the nutrient content and water quality of a rare system.• Utilized YSI meter and processed water samples to evaluate water quality. • Served as Chemistry 151 and Science 100 lab instructor.

St Croix, Usvi

• Assisted in statistical model development and data analysis with use of Stata MP programming and statistical software and Microsoft SQL to determine key variables influencing customer performance and to identify target customer audience for a micro-financing company.• Data management, mining, QA/QC, business monitoring, and report writing contingent on problem-solving.

St Croix, Us Virgin Islands

• Conducted scientific dive surveys for data collection of fish abundance and biomass, benthic habitat composition, coral health, sea turtle abundance, and lionfish abundance, and, in particular, for NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). • Contributed to the deployment and maintenance of Vemco hydroacoustic receivers to track movements and habitat utilization of various marine species, along with NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) by conducting fish dive surveys.• Administered boat operations.

St Croix, Us Virgin Islands

• Instructor for snorkel clinic groups of all ages around St Croix to increase appreciation for the marine habitat through recreation.

St Croix, Us Virgin Islands

• Contributed to commercial fishing catch report data entry, port sampling, fishing trips, data management, and invasive species management.

St Croix, Us Virgin Islands

• Compiled agenda and post-meeting report for the Coral Assembly Meeting 2011, hosted by The Nature Conservancy and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program in San Juan, Puerto Rico.• Facilitated group discussions and presented on major regional fisheries concerns.

Wilmington, North Carolina, United States

• Provided field assistance in tidal creeks, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and the Atlantic surf zone to capture fish and invertebrates for community characterization and biological sampling to determine potential impacts from beach renourishment. • Captured fish using seine nets and collected sediment and invertebrate samples from the surf zone for identification and processing. • Conducted beach shoreline surveying and profiling.• Oversaw Soxlet lipid extractions of tidal creek fish to determine fat content as a health indicator for tidal creek systems.

Master'S Degree, Marine And Environmental Sciences

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Marine Biology

Chemistry Minor