Rate My Professor Max Castorani

Max C. N. Castorani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and San Diego State University in 2014, and his B.S. in Evolution and Ecology from The Ohio State University in 2008. Following his doctorate, Castorani served as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2014 to 2017. He joined the University of Virginia as Assistant Professor in 2017 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023.

Castorani's research centers on coastal marine ecology, examining how ecological processes shape the abundance, distribution, and stability of species and ecosystems across spatial and temporal scales. His investigations address population and community ecology, including the effects of disturbance and restoration on kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, the stabilizing role of biodiversity, and spatial connectivity in metapopulations. He has secured major grants such as the NSF CAREER award for source-sink dynamics in restored oyster metapopulations (2024–2029), serves as Co-PI on the NSF Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research project (2025–2031), and has received funding from Virginia Sea Grant and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. Key publications include 'Spatial variability in the resistance and resilience of giant kelp in southern and Baja California to a multiyear heatwave' (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2019), 'Loss of foundation species: disturbance frequency outweighs severity in structuring kelp forest communities' (Ecology, 2018), 'Fluctuations in population fecundity drive variation in demographic connectivity and metapopulation dynamics' (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2017), and 'Connectivity structures local populations dynamics: a long-term empirical test in a large metapopulation system' (Ecology, 2015). Castorani contributes as Subject-matter Editor for Ecology, Co-director of the Conservation Specialization at UVA, and teaches courses including Coastal and Estuarine Ecology, Spatial Ecology, and Theory and Practice of Biodiversity Conservation. His work has earned recognition through a 2024 UVA Research Achievement Award.