My research focuses on the development of science-based solutions to conservation and management issues in the ocean. My expertise is in the application of spatial tools, such as satellite tracking and oceanographic modeling, to understanding the distribution of large marine predators, how these predators interact with ocean processes, and how this knowledge can be applied to managing predator populations, human activities and ocean resources. Through my research, I aim to fulfill three goals: (1) conduct innovative science that is applied to conservation and management issues, (2) build knowledge and capacity in underdeveloped regions of the world, and (3) use research as tool for teaching and engaging students.

I have been in the field of marine conservation for over a decade. After completing my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida, I served for four years as a Conservation Scientist for Marine Conservation Institute leading and supporting projects at the local, national and international level. Through this experience I learned process of impactful science, and marine conservation was my primary focus as during my doctoral research in Dan Costa’s lab from 2005-2010.

A key component of my dissertation, titled ‘Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas for Top Predators Along the Central West African and US West Coasts’, focused on applying research results to management. Results from my sea turtle research in Gabon, Africa have been used in reducing the impacts of oil and gas development, as the basis of scientific knowledge for one of the least-studied species in the world, and have pushed the implementation of the first international marine protected area in the region into the final stages. My work with the Tagging of Pacific Predators project is being applied in a number of policy and management arenas including government-initiated conservation gap analyses and as scientific backing for a Congressional bill that will expand the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries (H.R. 1187).

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with Marine Conservation Institute (www.marine-conservation.org) and a Research Associate at University of California Santa Cruz in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. In my post-doctoral work, I have expanded the scope of my research program to study pelagic protected area management, or the management of protected areas beyond the coastal zone. Spatial management tools (e.g., marine protected areas, marine spatial planning, fishery closures) are largely applied to coastal regions where species and processes function on a relatively small spatial scale. The protection of highly mobile species or open ocean processes, however, requires us to set aside vast expanses of the ocean through pelagic protected areas. One such pelagic protected area is the US Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, the fourth largest marine protected area in the world. I am working with the monument’s managing agencies (NOAA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service) to synthesize and interpret existing scientific data relevant to monument management. Additionally I am conducting a review of existing pelagic protected areas to determine lessons learned and best practices for management of protected areas. This synthesis will serve as a framework for management of the Pacific Remote Islands and other pelagic protected areas.

Peer-reviewed Publications

Maxwell, S., J. Frank, G. Breed, P. Robinson, S. Simmons, D. Crocker, J. Gallo-Reynoso, and D. Costa (in press). Benthic foraging on seamounts as a specialized foraging behavior by a deep diving marine mammal. Marine Mammal Science.

Maxwell, S., G. Breed, B. Nickel, J. Makanga-Bahouna, E. Pemo-Makaya, R. Parnell, A. Formia, S. Ngouessono, B. Godley, D. Costa and M. Coyne (2011). Using Satellite Tracking to Optimize Protection of Long-Lived Marine Species: Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Conservation in Central Africa. PLoS ONE 6(5): e19905

Maxwell, S., P.W. Robinson, S.E. Simmons and D.P. Costa (2006) Evidence of benthic foraging by northern elephant seals on North Pacific seamounts and banks. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: E227.

Chuenpagdee, R., L.E. Morgan, S. Maxwell, E.A. Norse and D. Pauly (2003). Shifting gears: Assessing collateral impacts of fishing methods in the U.S. waters. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1(10): 517–524.

Reports, Conference Proceedings & Other Publications

Maxwell, S. and L. Morgan (2011). Pelagic Fish and Seabird Inter-Relationships in the Central Tropical Pacific: Methods and Approaches to Study and Management. Report to the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 47 p.

Maxwell, S. and L. Morgan (2011). Ecological Inter-relationships between Pelagic Fishes and Seabirds in the Central Tropical Pacific. Report to the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 43 p.

Jenkins, L.D., S. Maxwell (2011). Change in Conservation Efforts. Bioscience 61(2): 93.

Maxwell, S. (2010) Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas for Top Predators Along the Central West African and US West Coasts. PhD Dissertation, University of California Santa Cruz, 237 p.

Maxwell, S., L. Morgan, C.-F. Tsao and T. Wilkinson (2005). The Role of Sea Turtles in Determining Multi-National Priority Conservation Areas. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-582. Pp 44-45.

Maxwell, S. (2005). An Aquatic Pharmacy: The Biomedical Potential of the Deep Sea. Current 21(4): 31-32.

Maxwell, S., H. Ehrlich, L. Speer and W. Chandler (2005). Medicines from the deep: the importance of protecting the high seas from bottom trawling. Natural Resources Defense Council, New York. 14 pp.

Morgan, L.E., S. Maxwell, C.-F. Tsao, T. Wilkinson and P. Etnoyer (2005). Priority Conservation Areas: Baja California to the Bering Sea. Final Report of Marine Conservation Biology Institute and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Montreal, Canada, 132 pp.

Morgan, L.E., E.A. Norse, A.D. Rogers, R.L. Haedrich, and S. Maxwell (2005). Why the world needs a time-out on high seas bottom trawling. Deep Sea Conservation Coalition Report, 14 pp.

Tsao, C.-F., L. Morgan and S. Maxwell. (2005). The Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Region Selected as a Priority Conservation Area in the Baja California to Bering Sea Initiative. In: Proceedings of the 2005 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference, Puget Sound Action Team.

Morgan, L.E., P. Etnoyer, T. Wilkinson, H. Herrmann, C.-F. Tsao and S. Maxwell (2004). Identifying priority conservation areas from Baja California to the Bering Sea. In: Munro, N., T. Herman, K. Beazley, P. Dearden (eds). Making ecosystem-based management work. Proceedings of the Science and Management of Protected Areas Association. Victoria, Canada.

Morgan, L.E., R. Chuenpagdee, S. Maxwell, and E.A. Norse (2004). Marine protected areas (MPAs) as a tool for addressing the collateral impacts of fishing gears. In: Munro, N., T. Herman, K. Beazley, P. Dearden (eds). Making ecosystem-based management work. Proceedings of the Science and Management of Protected Areas Association. Victoria, Canada.

Maxwell, S., L. Morgan, R. Chuenpagdee, C.-F. Tsao and L. Jenkins (2003). Achieving Conservation of Marine Turtles Through Gear-Based Management. Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-567. Pp 81.