The invertebrate ecology lab is an integrative lab that combines ship-based, field, and laboratory studies to understand how invertebrates interact with, affect, and are affected by their surrounding environment.  Research topics include morphological studies of feeding structures and invertebrate anatomy, in situ and laboratory measurements of metabolic rates, diet studies, and assessments of the effectiveness of marine protected areas on benthic invertebrate species.

Research Interests

• The effect of suspension feeders on local nutrient cycling (carbon, nitrogen, and silicon) in shallow and deep-sea habitats
• Feeding selectivity, niche partitioning, and specialization of suspension feeders
• Determine effective design of marine protected areas for benthic invertebrate species
• The mechanism behind the ‘sponge loop’ and its ability to shunt microbial carbon into animal food webs
• Using novel visualization methods to determine whether dissolved organic carbon can be taken up directly by animal cells
• Drivers of behavior and activity of sessile benthic animals in shallow water and the deep sea
• Ecological energetics of deep-sea habitats
• Energetic costs of various physiological processes
• Prevalence and selectivity of microplastic ingestion by suspension feeders