Dr. Conley is a Professor of Biology at the State University of New York at Potsdam. His undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) was in Fisheries Biology, followed by a master's degree in Marine Biology at UMass Dartmouth, and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of South Florida. His research on trophic interactions has ranged from Adirondack ponds, to the coastal estuaries of New England, and the mesopelagic zone of the Gulf of Mexico He also worked towards the conservation of endangered sea turtles and manatees.