Coastal and Marine Laboratory

Research and Professional Interests

I am an aquatic ecologist whose research is focused on improving conservation outcomes using theoretical ecology. My work integrates metacommunity, population, and functional ecology to understand how global change processes such as species invasions or hydrological alteration are impacting biodiversity and ecosystem function. 

Global change drivers operate across large spatiotemporal extents, and general mechanisms are often obscured by context dependent processes. My work leverages “big data” techniques to tease apart these context dependent processes to gain a more general understanding of why and how ecosystems respond to global change. Additionally, I utilize functional traits, life history data, and field experiments to link changes in biodiversity to alterations in ecosystem function.

My research has spanned aquatic systems from the mountains to the seas –from small headwater streams, to freshwater wetlands and rivers, and salt marshes. I am currently working on examining the efficacy of hydrological restoration in the Florida Everglades via the response of small-bodied fish production to hydrological changes. Here, I am interested in how annual changes in hydrology alter seasonal production mechanisms and how environmental and dispersal processes affect fish production. This will help inform the use of conservation resources to preserve the proper mechanisms that maintain fish biomass to support the Everglade ecosystem.

Education

Ph.D. Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Clemson University (2025)

M.S. Biology, Georgia Southern University (2021)

B.S. Zoology,  University of Florida (2017)

Research Areas & Interests

Macroecology, metacommunity and population ecology, functional ecology, global change ecology, landscape ecology, biodiversity, secondary production