Jessica Pate

Research Interests

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 (opens in a new tab) (2020), and in 2025 she co-authored the study that formally described the Atlantic manta ray (Mobula yarae) as a new species (opens in a new tab). She was also lead author of a 2025 study of the distribution of three devil ray species across the western Atlantic and Caribbean (opens in a new tab). In 2026 she co-authored a study documenting remoras entering manta rays’ cloacas (opens in a new tab), 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 (opens in a new tab) (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.

Education

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

Biography

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!

MMF work

Leads

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

Team member

Hawaii Oceanic Manta ProjectUSATeam
Open Ocean GiantsTeam

Media

Our work in the USA

Operational hub — Florida, USAThe Florida Manta Project studies a coastal manta population living alongside one of the most developed shorelines in the world. From that base the program reaches across the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and out to the eastern Pacific with partners in Ecuador.Explore our work in the USA →