Lecturer
- PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego, Marine Biology
- BS (with High Distinction), University of Virginia, Biology (concentration in Environmental and Biological Conservation)
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego
Andrew Nosal, PhD, joined the USD faculty in 2017. Nosal teaches courses in marine biology, ecology, oceanography, and environmental science. His research on animal movement ecology combines laboratory experiments and field work to understand that causes and consequences of animal movement.
Areas of Expertise
Movement ecology, spatial ecology, behavioral ecology, physiological ecology, animal tracking, elasmobranch fishes (sharks and rays), fisheries conservation and management, marine biology, and science communication.
Scholarly Work
As a movement ecologist, Dr. Nosal studies the causes and consequences of animal movement, how individuals respond to environmental and anthropogenic change, and how these individual responses scale up to affect the structure and function of populations and communities. This requires a detailed understanding of animal movements and their underlying mechanisms. In his research, Nosal uses GIS to integrate high-resolution movement data from animal-borne tracking devices, aerial drone footage, and camera traps with in-situ measured, remotely sensed, and modeled environmental data. The goal of his research is to develop highly predictive models that integrate habitat preferences, physiological and life history constraints, and inter- and intraspecific interactions into forecasts of animal movement in space and time.
Since 2007, Nosal has applied this movement ecology framework to study the sharks and rays of California and Baja California, including aggregation behavior, migration, navigation, mating systems, and population structure, along with the conservation and management implications of these. Nosal has also investigated the psychological effect of ominous background music in shark documentaries on viewers’ perceptions of and willingness to conserve sharks. Nosal holds a concurrent Visiting Assistant Researcher appointment at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group for the Northeast Pacific Region.
News
Areas of Interest
Dr. Nosal has been teaching undergraduate lecture and laboratory courses since 2011, including general, cell, organismal, and marine biology for science and non-science majors. Currently, Nosal enjoys teaching a wide range of courses in marine biology, ecology, oceanography, and environmental science. He has also team-taught interdisciplinary courses on science communication and the intersection of science and religion. He believes that students learn science by doing science and that students must internalize the notion that they are scientists. Thus, Nosal strives to cultivate an attitude suited to scientific inquiry that blends curiosity, skepticism, and self-motivation, as well as to empower students with foundational scientific skills, such as formulating and testing insightful hypotheses, reading and evaluating primary literature, and problem-solving.
Nosal is also passionate about science communication and integrates opportunities for students to hone this fundamental skill into every course he teaches. Nosal has undergone formal training in science communication at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York, where he learned how to incorporate improvisational theatre skills and storytelling into his science teaching and community outreach. In 2015, Nosal was one of five international winners of the iBiology Young Scientist Seminar (YSS) Series Competition.
Lastly, as a Latino of Puerto Rican descent, Nosal participates in the movement to decolonize science and is committed to broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities in the STEM fields. In 2021, Nosal was a member of the USD Environmental and Ocean Sciences URGE (Unlearning Racism in GEosciences) pod.