Education:

2018-2019 – Postdoctoral Fellow, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
2016-2018 – Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Alberta
2016 – PhD Ecology, University of Alberta
2010 – MS Marine Science, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/CSU Monterey Bay
2007 – BS Biological Sciences, BA Chemistry, CSU East Bay

Research Interests:

My research goals are to study patterns of natural distributions and ecophysiology of invertebrate animals that live on the seafloor. Current research projects include:

• Understanding what drives the distribution of benthic animals,
• Comparative energetics of different animals from shallow and deep habitats,
• Documenting activity of sessile animals over time,
• Identifying and documenting the dominant sponge species in the area and their diversity, and
• Studying the effects of stressors on the physiology and tissue homeostasis of deep sea animals.

Broadly, I study feeding and energetics of suspension feeders (so far mainly sponges) from shallow water to the deep sea at both the ecological and organismal scale in order to understand the effects of animals on their surroundings (benthic-pelagic coupling) and the potential effects of human activity on them.  Since benthic suspension feeders can be foundation species in their communities, changes to their populations can have ripple effects throughout the community.  They may therefore be useful indicators for monitoring changes in habitats.

Google Scholar Profile

• https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=Cq1iuicAAAAJ