Responsibilities
- Responsible for the functioning of the Achotines Laboratory in the Republic of Panama.
- Development and local coordination of collaborative research between the Early Life History Group and international scientific organizations.
- Management of the personnel and budget of the Achotines Laboratory working in consultation with the Head of Program.
Education
- M.Sc. in Fisheries Science, College of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington, 1993.
- B.Sc. in Fisheries Biology, College of Fisheries, University of Washington, 1975.
Biography
Vern Scholey joined the IATTC staff as an Associate Scientist in 1979 spending most of the next two years tagging juvenile and adult Pacific bluefin tuna from various locations in Japan. He then spent about four years running the IATTC field office in Manta, Ecuador. Since late 1985 he has been in charge of the IATTC Achotines Laboratory in the Republic of Panama. Vern’s responsibilities include the capture and culture of broodstock tuna, coordinating and participating in field and laboratory research carried out by the IATTC Early Life History Group, and local coordination of joint research by IATTC scientists with other investigators from around the world working on tuna and tuna-related topics. He also manages the laboratory infrastructure development and maintenance and design and operation of the sophisticated seawater systems needed to maintain tuna larvae, juveniles, and adults in captivity.
Other courses
Since 2003 Vern has coordinated and co-taught the annual workshop on “Physiology and Aquaculture of Pelagics with Emphasis on Reproduction and Early Developmental Stages of Yellowfin Tuna.” Held at Achotines Laboratory it is a joint IATTC-University of Miami event with participants attending from around the world.
- Buchalla, Y., D. Margulies, V. Scholey, S. Cusatti, and M.S. Stein. 2025. Food selectivity, diel feeding, and effect of light intensity on prey consumption, growth and survival of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares larvae. Marine Ecology Progress Series
- Dimens, P.V., K.L. Jones, D. Margulies, V. Scholey, S. Cusatti, B. McPeak, T.E. Hildahl, and E.A.E. Saillant 2024. Genomic resources for the Yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares. Molecular Biology Reports
- Buchalla, Y., D. Margulies, S. Cusatti, E. Pereira, and V. Scholey 2024. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Achotines Laboratory: four decades of continuous research on tropical tunas. World Aquaculture Society, World Aquaculture Magazine
- Heuer, R.M., Y. Wang, C. Pasparakis, W. Zhang, V. Scholey, D. Margulies and M. Grosell 2023. Effects of elevated CO2 on metabolic rate and nitrogenous waste handling in the early life stages of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A
- Heuer, R.M., Y. Wang, C. Pasparakis, W. Zhang, V. Scholey, D. Margulies, and M. Grosell 2023. Effects of elevated CO2 on metabolic rate and nitrogenous waste handling in the early life stages of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). Sciencedirect
- Wexler, J.B., D. Margulies, V. Scholey, C.E. Lennert-Cody, D. Bromhead, S. Nicol, S.D. Hoyle, M. Stein, J.E. Williamson, and J. Havenhand 2023. The effect of ocean acidification on otolith morphology in larvae of a tropical, epipelagic fish species, yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
- Tanaka, T., Honryo, T., Sawada, Y., Margulies, D., Scholey, V., Wexler, J., Stein, M., Biswas, A., Takii, K. 2022. Biochemical changes occurring in yellowfin tuna eggs during embryonic development. Fishes
- Nicol, S., P. Lehodey, I. Senina, D. Bromhead, A. Frommel, J. Hampton, J. Havenhand, D. Margulies, P. Munday, V. Scholey, J. Williamson, and N. Smith 2022. Ocean futures for the world’s largest yellowfin tuna population under the combined effects of ocean warming and acidification. Frontiers in Marine Science
- Cusatti, S., D. Margulies, V. Scholey, Y. Sawada and Y. Agawa 2022. Spawning ecology of captive yellowfin tuna broodstock inferred by the use of mitochondrial DNA sequencing analysis. Aquaculture Science
- Pasparakis, C., Y. Wang, R.M. Heuer, W. Zhang, J.D. Stieglitz, C.J. McGuigan, D.D. Benetti, V.P. Scholey, D. Margulies, and M. Grosell. 2021. Ultraviolet avoidance by embryonic buoyancy control in three species of marine fish. Science of the Total Environment