Lab members

On board R/V Connecticut, September 2019. Photo by Daniel Hentz (WHOI).

Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser
Marine biologist 

Most of the ocean floor is blanketed by soft sediments, so hard-bottom habitats are usually isolated and island-like. Any solid object - be it a reef, a lone rock, or a shipwreck - will inevitably be colonized, and these substrata provide habitats for diverse and abundant communities of sponges, anemones, crabs, mussels, and fish. As a benthic ecologist, I study the colonization and connectivity of island-like hard-bottom habitats.

My research focuses on the early life-history stages of invertebrates, including larval dispersal and recruitment. The larval phase is the only opportunity for sessile organisms to spread to or colonize new environments. I seek to understand how biological and environmental factors interact to control larval dispersal, particularly in cases where a few larvae disperse farther than their siblings to reach isolated, island-like habitats. Immediately after settlement, invertebrates suffer high mortality because of environmental stress and predation. I study the factors driving this post-settlement mortality and how early life-history bottlenecks shape invertebrate communities. Most communities undergo change over time, as new species arrive and others are replaced. I use shipwrecks as model systems to understand how structural change to a habitat drives change in the biological community. 

In order to collect samples and conduct experiments, I embark on frequent expeditions to the field. I use SCUBA and small boats to reach near-shore habitats and participate in oceanographic expeditions on larger research ships to sample off-shore or deep-sea habitats with remotely operated vehicles. Much of my work involves collection of high-resolution imagery - either video or photos - from the seafloor, and so image analysis is a staple of my research. I am fortunate to travel frequently, both domestically and internationally. 

I am the leader of WHOI's Wreck Intelligence team. This interdisciplinary group aims to holistically understand shipwrecks' role in the ocean environment, using emerging AI tools to accelerate our research. 

The Meyer-Kaiser lab is a place where researchers of all kinds can contribute their own perspectives on marine organisms and the habitats they call home. If you are interested in joining the lab, reach out to me at kmeyer@whoi.edu.

Calvin Mires
Maritime archaeologist

Dr. Calvin Mires has over 20 years of experience in maritime archaeology and underwater cultural heritage. He has led and worked on more than 30 maritime archaeology projects around the world, including Greek and Roman shipwrecks and harbors, Sweden's iconic warship Vasa, Confederate Blockade Runners in North and South Carolina, ship graveyards in Bermuda, and various sites in the Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and the Great Lakes. He is co-founder and instructor of SEAMAHP, a training program that leverages the concept of a ship's life-cycle to provide hands-on experiential learning to the public in maritime archaeology. Since 2015, he has co-directed the only maritime archaeology field schools in Massachusetts with cooperation of the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, the Trustees of Reservations, and the National Park Service, and has run maritime archaeological summer programs for middle and high school students.

Calvin is a Research Associate in the Meyer-Kaiser lab at WHOI. In this role, he co-developed the interdisciplinary framework of Maritime Heritage Ecology, providing a platform for marine biologists and maritime archaeologists to collaborate across traditional disciplinary lines and create a holistic understanding of a shipwreck's role in the ecosystem. Calvin has contributed to shipwreck exploration missions in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Gulf of Mexico. He led the field work for a collaborative project to determine whether environmental DNA (eDNA) could be used to detect the presence of human remains at submerged airplane crash sites. Calvin contributes his maritime archaeology perspectives as a member of WHOI's Wreck Intelligence team. 

Sarah Zuidema

Research Assistant 

I always tell people that the ocean and its inhabitants have a really positive way of getting under your skin. For me, the organisms that really drew me in to a career in marine biology were invertebrates. I love that they are so wildly different from us, and have adaptations that stretch beyond anything my childhood imagination may have dreamed up. I completed my Marine Biology Master’s in Charleston, South Carolina where I studied white shrimp (Penaeus setiferus) and their parasite populations. During my thesis research, I developed a love of fieldwork, and I also became very comfortable behind a microscope. I have carried these skills into my current position at WHOI, where I am primarily responsible for processing large sample sets of zooplankton and benthic invertebrates. In Kirstin’s lab, I have analyzed a complex zooplankton sample set from Palau to characterize the diversity of species in the Palau National Marine Sanctuary. I have also supported research projects on the environmental impacts of offshore wind, sustainability of the scallop fishery, and the ecological role of shipwrecks. I am always excited to discuss all things weird and wonderful in the world of invertebrates, and I can be reached at sarah.zuidema@whoi.edu.

Kraken

Golden Doodle

Kraken comes to the lab with Kirstin a few days a week. His research interests include environmental smells, creative and alternative tug toys, and sleeping positions on the lab couch. Kraken's dissertation, entitled "Investigations in misbehavior: methods for optimizing treat output in a Homo sapiens household," was heralded by the Canine Research Society as "the most comprehensive experiment in puppy misbehavior in several years." Since completing his education, Kraken has stayed on in the Meyer-Kaiser lab as a researcher in the global OCEM network (Olfactory Cues for Environmental Monitoring). His data collection involves daily walks along a set route in Woods Hole to monitor changes in environmental conditions along monthly, seasonal, and annual time-scales. Building on his OCEM work, Kraken has become an expert in pattern recognition, with about 99% accuracy in predicting the timing of his data collection walks. 

Former lab members

Olivia Quintin, Guest Student, 2025-2026

Project: Community composition of sessile invertebrates on shipwrecks and plane wrecks in Palau Paper

Next steps: Coral restoration intern at Mote Marine Laboratory

Kharis Schrage, PhD student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, 2020-2025

Dissertation: Early life-history ecology of Arctic benthic invertebrates

Chapter 1      Chapter 2      Chapter 3      Chapter 4

Next steps: Postdoctoral Fellow at Ocean Frontiers Institute, Dalhousie University and WHOI

Johanna Weston, Postdoctoral Scholar, 2022-2025

Project: Development of a low-cost, full-ocean-depth zooplankton sampler Paper

Martyna Kowalska, Summer Student Fellow, 2024

Project: Distribution of meroplankton in a high Arctic fjord

Next steps: MS student at University of Bremen

Maikani Andres, Guest Student, 2023

Project: Recruitment of corals in Palau Paper

Next steps: Researcher at Palau International Coral Reef Center

Kimberly Nuñez, Summer Student Fellow, 2022

Project: Long-term changes in the Arctic deep sea: benthic community structure at HAUSGARTEN-I 2002-2022 Paper

Next steps: Lab Coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center

Hanny Rivera, Postdoctoral Investigator, 2018-2021

Project: Population connectivity and adaptation for thermal tolerance among corals in Palau Paper

Next steps: Director of Business Partnerships at Gingko Bioworks (biotech start-up)

Amelia 'Mimi' Smith, Summer Student Fellow, 2020

Project: Ontogenetic development of the crinoid Poliometra prolixa in the Arctic deep sea. Paper

Next steps: Program Specialist at ICF Energy (environmental consulting firm)