Research

*Check back later to learn about my recent project investigating how the spatial patterning of larval habitats influences egg-laying behavior in the mosquitoes that vector human diseases such as West Nile, Zika, and dengue fever.

Toxic microalgae in coral reefs and their seaweed hosts

Photo credit: Maria Faust

For this project I am investigating how macroalgal (seaweed) biomass and species composition in coral reefs influence densities of toxic microalgae, focusing particularly on several species of dinoflagellates that cause ciguatera poisoning in people. (More here.)

Ocean Acidification & Coral Reefs

For my master's research I studied how physiological processes like photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification influence one another in calcifying coral reef organisms, and how environmental factors like light, temperature, and pCO2 modulate these relationships. The goal of this research is to provide insights as to how coral reef calcifiers will be influenced by ocean acidification and climate change in the future, including how their distributions may shift across depth zones and light environments. (More here.)

Fishing Pressure Effects on Coral Reef Benthic (Seafloor) Communities

This research sought to characterize benthic community composition at Kiritimati Atoll over time to assess the influence of fishing pressure and environmental variables like oceanographic productivity on its community structure. (More here.)

Effects of Artisanal Fisheries on Coral Reef Community Structure & Function

As a research technician I assisted with this research investigating how the terrestrial and coral reef systems are linked to each other via nutrient and energy subsidies, which organisms play an important role shaping both ecosystems, and how humans change how coral reef food webs are structured.
(More here.)

Importance of Marine Nutrients in Tropical Island Terrestrial Communities

Starting as an undergraduate and then later as a research technician, I conducted research focusing on the effects of marine nutrient subsidies from seabirds on island ecosystems. Part of that work involved determining the role that coconut palm trees play in shaping terrestrial communities by reducing seabird densities, and consequently reducing their nutrient inputs to these systems. (More here.)