Notable Achievements

Assistant Professor of Geographic Information Sciences Stephanie Insalaco recently published a dataset, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and the United States Geological Survey. The data product provides a collation of estimates of species vulnerability to climate change that have been made using correlative niche models, which can be used by states in the southeastern U.S. when making their State Wildlife Action Plans. The dataset can be found here.

MORE

Expertise

Geographic Information Science, Remote Sensing, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Sustainability, Coastal Marine Ecosystems, Seagrass, Protected Areas, Parks, Savanna Ecosystems

Environmental geographer and remote sensing scientist specializing in coastal and estuarine ecosystem monitoring and seagrass dynamics, applying machine learning and multispectral satellite analysis to support stakeholder-informed, integrated social–ecological approaches to ecosystem decline in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon and Gulf Coast estuaries.

  • Environmental geographer and remote sensing scientist specializing in coastal and estuarine ecosystem monitoring and seagrass dynamics, applying machine learning and multispectral satellite analysis to support stakeholder-informed, integrated social–ecological approaches to ecosystem decline in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon and Gulf Coast estuaries.

  • Insalaco, S. & Vickich, H. (2025). Mapping Recent Seagrass Trends in Laguna Madre, Texas using Random Forest and Sentinel-2 Imagery. Estuaries and Coasts. (In-Preparation)

     

    Insalaco, S., Herrero, H. V., & Vickich, H. (2025). Recording Seagrass Growth in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. Frontiers in Remote Sensing. (Revise and Resubmit)

     

    Armsworth, P.R., Dalliance, E., Durant, J., Insalaco, S., Jantz, S., & Lyon, L. (2025). Climate Vulnerability Estimates from Correlative Niche Models for Southeastern U.S. Species: A Tool to Support State Wildlife Action Plan Revisions (2025): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P14QMCJL.

     

    McCarthy, M., Herrero, H.V., Insalaco, S., Hinten, M., & Anyamba, A. (2025). Satellite remote sensing for environmental SDGs: A review of applications for terrestrial and marine protected areas. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment.

     

    Herrero, H. V., Insalaco, S., Wolfson, W.B., & Schwartzman, G. (2025). Evaluating stakeholder perception of ecosystem change in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida. Ecology and Society. (Awaiting Response)

     

    Insalaco, S. “A Holistic Approach to Ecosystem Decline in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida. ” PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2024. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/10409

     

    Insalaco, S., Herrero, H. V., Limber, R., Oliver, C., & Wolfson, W. B. (2024). Monitoring an ecosystem in crisis: measuring seagrass meadow loss utilizing Deep Learning in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.

     

    Herrero, H. V., Southworth, J., Khatami, R., Insalaco, S., & Muir, C. (2023). Examining the relationship between vegetation decline and precipitation in the National Parks of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area in the 21st Century [Grasslands, Agriculture, and Ecology Research with Multisource Remote Sensing]. Frontiers in Environmental Science.

     

    Insalaco, S. (2021). The Influence of the Space Shuttle Program on Land Use/Land Cover and Population Dynamics in Brevard County, Florida. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2550251420).

     

    Stofer, K. A., Chandler, J. W., Insalaco, S., Matyas, C., Lannon, H. J., Judge, J., Lanman, B., Hom, B., & Norton, H. (2021). Two-Year College Students Report Multiple Benefits from Participation in an Integrated Geoscience Research, Coursework, and Outreach Internship Program. Community College Review, 49(4), 457–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521211026682

  • Vickich, H. & Insalaco, S. (2025) “Filling the Gap: What’s the State of Seagrass in Laguna Madre, Texas?”, Oral presentation at the Research and Creative Works Symposium, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas.

     

    Insalaco. S & Vickich, H. (2025) “Mapping Recent Seagrass Trends in Laguna Madre, Texas using Random Forest and Sentinel-2”, Virtual oral presentation at the American Association of Geographers Conference, Detroit, Michigan.

     

    Insalaco. S, Herrero, H. & Wolfson, W. (2024) “Using Random Forest to Map Seagrass Recovery in Mosquito Lagoon, FL after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole”, Virtual oral presentation at the American Association of Geographers Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.

     

    Insalaco, S., Stack, K., & Kannarr, S. (2023) Graduate Student Panel for GEOG499 (Practicing Geography and Sustainability), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

     

    Insalaco. S, Limber, R., Herrero, H. & Wolfson, W. (2023) “Monitoring Seagrass Loss in Mosquito Lagoon through Deep Neural Networks (Deep Learning)”, Oral presentation at the Mosquito Lagoon Stakeholder Workshop, Titusville, Florida.

     

    Insalaco. S, Limber, R., Herrero, H. & Wolfson, W. (2023) “Pollution and Manatees: A Case Study of Ecosystem Decline in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida”, Virtual poster at the American Association of Geographers Conference, Denver, Colorado.

     

    Insalaco. S, Limber, R., Herrero, H. & Wolfson, W. (2023) “Tracking Seagrass Loss in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida through Deep Neural Networks”, Oral presentation at the Indian River Lagoon Symposium, Fort Pierce, Florida.

     

    Insalaco. S, Limber, R., Herrero, H. & Wolfson, W. (2023) “Helping an Ecosystem in Crisis with Deep Learning and Survey Data”, Poster at Spatiality and Sustainability: GeoSym 2023, Knoxville, Tennessee.

     

    Insalaco. S., Alderman, D., Smith, C., Luffman, I., Williams, B., & Crockett., D. (2022) “Imposter Syndrome: Let’s Break the Stigma”, Panel at the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.

     

    Insalaco. S., Limber, R., & Herrero, H. (2022) “A Holistic Approach to Analyzing Seagrass and Ecosystem Decline in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida”, Poster at the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.

     

    Insalaco, S. (2021) “The Influence of Space Exploration on Land Use/Land Cover in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” Graduate Honors Paper Competition Finalist at the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Conference, Florence, Alabama.

     

    Insalaco, S. & Stofer, K (2019) “Two-Year College Students Report Multiple Benefits from Participation in a Geoscience Research and Education Internship.” Poster presented at University of Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium, Gainesville, Florida.

     

    Insalaco, S. & Stofer, K (2019) “Two-Year College Students Report Multiple Benefits from Participation in a Geoscience Research and Education Internship.” Oral presentation at the Florida Society of Geographers Conference, Orlando, Florida.


In the News

  • SURF Program Ushers in New Wave of Student-Faculty Research at Southwestern University

    Applications are now open for the summer Southwestern Undergraduate Research with Faculty (SURF) program, offering students the opportunity to conduct paid, full-time research and creative works alongside faculty members.