Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET)

University of Maryland Baltimore County

University of Maryland Baltimore

​Welcome to the Tracy Lab of Marine Ecosystem Health and Disease.

We study how changing environments affect species interactions and what the consequences are for ecosystem health and function. The lab's primary focus areas include the ecology and evolution of infectious disease, community ecology, spatial ecology, fisheries and restoration ecology.
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In the Chesapeake Bay, our work focuses on the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, including the reef habitat oysters form, the impact of restoration and management, and species interactions. Chesapeake Bay oysters are a well-studied system for understanding marine disease, which serves as a strong foundation for our work on host-parasite interactions. The other branch of our research focuses on co-infection, immunity, and environmental drivers in the sea fan octocoral, Gorgonia ventalina, in Puerto Rico .

The goal of our research is to understand and conserve habitat-forming “foundation species” for the benefit of people and nature.