Hi! My name is Lexie DelViscio, and I’m a third-year Biological Oceanography M.S. student in the Davies lab at URI-GSO, where I’m wrapping up my thesis and preparing to defend. I joined the lab in September 2024 after earning my B.S. in Marine Biology with a minor in Data Science from the College of Charleston. I’m originally from Annapolis, MD, and in my free time I enjoy reading on the beach, cooking, running, watching hockey, and exploring Rhode Island!
What made you decide to go into marine science?
My passion, love, and curiosity regarding the ocean began at a young age and stemmed from playing in the tide pools of Maine and swimming on the beaches of Cape Cod every summer. As I got older I realized that I didn’t want to spend my life doing anything other than studying and exploring the ocean! I discovered in undergraduate school how much I was drawn to research, and that solidified my decision to pursue my masters in the field.
What is the focus of your research/work? What do you think is the most important takeaway from your research?
My research focuses on understanding how the seafloor’s shape and the local currents influence where deep-sea cold-water corals live in the Gulf of Mexico, including periodic disturbances from Loop Current eddies. These habitats are still poorly understood because the deep sea is difficult and expensive to study. I combine long-term environmental data collected in situ by our lab’s benthic landers, video surveys of the coral communities, and high-resolution seafloor mapping to connect the physical environment to the communities living there. I think the most important takeaway from my work is that conditions can vary greatly between nearby habitats. Measuring the environment at fine scales is key if we want to predict where these vulnerable ecosystems occur and how they will respond to a changing ocean.
What is the coolest thing you’ve done through your work?
I’ve sailed on research cruises in Fiji and American Samoa! In Fiji, I mapped habitats around deep-sea hydrothermal vents. In American Samoa, I was a seafloor mapping intern aboard the E/V Nautilus, charting unexplored parts of the ocean floor. I also hosted live ship-to-shore broadcasts, sharing our work with students and audiences around the world. Along the way, we crossed the equator at the International Date Line, which officially makes me a Golden Shellback!
What is one fun fact about you?
I’ve cliff jumped in the Dominican Republic and in Taormina, Sicily
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Teleportation! I love to travel, and it would cut down on costs and be environmentally friendly. It would also make getting to deep-sea field sites much easier.