Jessica Pate

Jessica’s research interests focus primarily on the biology, ecology, and behavior of imperiled marine species to inform management decisions. While she began her career collecting data on sea turtle populations, she now researches a never-before studied population of manta rays in south Florida. Jessica is interested in understanding the environmental drivers of spatial and temporal distribution, life history traits, and anthropogenic impacts on Florida’s manta rays. She utilizes a range of methodologies including underwater photography, aerial surveys, satellite and acoustic telemetry, genetics, and sociological surveys to answer her research questions. A key component of her research is involving local stakeholders in data collection and conservation, as well as raising awareness of marine conservation issues to the general public.

Since founding the Florida Manta Project in 2016, Jessica has documented a potential nursery for young manta rays along the Palm Beach County coast (2020), and in 2025 she co-authored the study that formally described the Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae) as a new species. She was also lead author of a 2025 study of the distribution of three devil ray species across the western Atlantic and Caribbean. In 2026 she co-authored a study documenting remoras entering manta rays’ cloacas, the shared opening of their digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts, and joined a team led by Dr. Madalena Cabral that reported the first ultrasound confirmation of pregnancy in free-swimming oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris). As US Country Manager, she also leads the Atlantic Guitarfish and Atlantic Mobula Rays projects and is part of the Hawaii Oceanic Manta Project team.

2014 Master of Science, Biology
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
Thesis title: A comparison of body proportions in juvenile sea turtles: How shape may optimize survival in a vulnerable life stage

2007 Bachelor of Science, Environmental Science
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Originally from eastern North Carolina, Jessica has always had a love of animals and the outdoors.  While at UNC-Chapel Hill she majored in Environmental Science, and studied abroad in Mexico and Kenya.  These experiences stoked her desire to travel, conduct field work, and conserve the natural world. She has lived and worked around the world as a biologist, including studying sea turtles in Costa Rica and Ghana, diving in Honduras, and even as a professor of marine biology on a sailboat while crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2016, she started the Florida Manta Project (FMP) with MMF.  She first saw manta rays in Florida while working on sea turtle nesting beaches, and was surprised to learn that manta rays there were unstudied.  Since the inception of FMP, she has described south Florida as a potential nursery habitat for young manta rays and documented a high frequency of anthropogenic impacts (fishing gear entanglement, vessel strikes) on these mantas.

Jessica enjoys scuba diving, underwater photography, bird watching, hiking, reading, and running.  Though manta rays are her favorite animal, she also loves looking for tiny nudibranchs and blennies while diving!

Leads

• Atlantic GuitarfishUSAProject leader
• Atlantic Mobula RaysUSAProject leader
• Revillagigedo Manta Ray ResearchMexicoProject leader
• The Florida Manta ProjectUSAProject leader

Team member

• Hawaii Oceanic Manta ProjectUSATeam

Des poissons surpris en plein auto-stop cloacal sur des raies manta | Daily Geek Show

Suckerfish Slip Through Manta Ray Buttholes and Scientists Aren’t Sure How Bad That Is | ZME Science

The ocean’s weirdest pit stops: Scientists discover remoras hiding inside manta rays | University of Miami News

New study reveals fish are ‘hitchhiking’ in manta ray ‘buttholes’ | The Cool Down

New Footage Shows Remoras Invading Manta Rays | A-Z Animals

Meet the Fish That Are Ramming Themselves Up Manta Ray Butts | VICE

Scientists Caught Suckerfish Diving Into Manta Rays’ Rear Ends | ScienceAlert

This Fish Hitches Rides in Manta Rays’ ‘Buttholes,’ According to New Research | Smithsonian Magazine

Le bunker de l’horreur ? Pourquoi certains poissons choisissent le cloaque des raies comme résidence mobile | Sciencepost

Saugfische verstecken sich im After von Mantarochen | Spektrum der Wissenschaft

Schiffshalter im Manta-Mors | SciLogs (Meertext)

Suckerfish are diving headfirst into unsuspecting manta rays’ rear-ends | CBC Radio

Remoras Are Diving Into Manta Ray ‘Buttholes.’ Really. | Forbes

‘A combination of amazement and horror’: Hitchhiker fish hide in manta ray buttholes | Live Science

What Are You Doing In There, Fish? | Defector

Are remoras the ocean’s weirdest hitchhikers? These suckerfish invade manta rays in the most intimate of places | Science X (Phys.org)

A Fish That Hitches Rides Where the Sun Doesn’t Shine | New York Times

Sucker fish are hiding in manta rays’ ‘butthole,’ new study reveals | Scientific American

New Research Finds Microplastics on Sea Turtle Beaches | National Park Service (Park Science)

The Insane Biology of: The Giant Manta Ray | Real Science — Jessica is interviewed in this documentary, watched more than 3 million times.

Recreational Shark Fishing: Collaborating for Conservation| ChangingSeasTV

Big manta rays found ‘right under our nose’ off Florida beaches | National Geographic

Amazing discovery in Palm Beach County: Giant manta ray babies and a study that could save a threatened species | Palm Beach Post

Manta Ray Research And Don’t Eat The Goat! With Jessica Pate | So You Want to be a Marine Biologist Podcast

This Woman-Led Conservation Team Is Protecting Giant Gentle Manta Rays | GOOD Magazine

259 Key Shark and Ray Habitats Mapped Across North America

September 25, 2026

Underwater Ultrasound Confirms Pregnancy in Wild Giant Manta Rays

September 24, 2026

Mapping the Endangered Atlantic Pygmy Devil Ray

May 12, 2026

Remoras Caught Hiding Inside Manta Rays

May 11, 2026

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