RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests can be summarized by the 4 w's.
Who is where, when, and what is impacting these species?
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Questions that motivate my research are:
What are the distinguishable environmental conditions that predict marine animal movement?
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What technological innovations can be leveraged to more appropriately sense the environment on scales relevant to marine animal decision making?
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How are species distributions affected by anomalous or shifting conditions, and how can we account for this variability in our management and conservation efforts?
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How can we use behavioral ecology and potential internal cues to understand how sub-populations of a species assort across space and time?
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Where does overlap in marine animal distribution and human use of the ocean occur, and can we use adaptive and dynamic ocean management to alleviate conflicts?
ANIMAL MOVEMENT AND BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
How do we measure the behavior and presence of marine species of concern? I am interested in where marine animals move in response to their environment and other animals. If I could breathe underwater for an unlimited amount of time, I would love to immerse myself into the world of fishes and sharks like Jane Goddall, and use visual observations to inform my research. Instead, my research leverages advances in bio-logging (miniature animal-attached electronic tags) to uncover the hidden lives of wild animals.
AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES
AND
REMOTE SENSING
We know more about the moon than we know about the bottom of our ocean's, and this speaks to the challenge of oceanographic research. This drives my curiosity for using underwater robots or satellites in space to measure the dynamic world which drives the movements and occurrence of many marine species. I am interested in advanced technologies (like the glider pictured here) that allow us to better measure and record the habitats and environments that marine species prefer (or avoid!).
APPLIED FISHERIES CONSERVATION
AND
MANAGEMENT
When we compare marine systems to terrestrial systems, there are some fundamental differences that really cause the conservation and management strategies we have developed for terrestrial systems to fall short in the marine realm.
The main difference is relatively simple, the marine environment is highly dynamic, everything from nutrient availability to the primary producers (and on up the food chain), everything is in constant flux because of the nature of life in water. However on land, ecosystems are relatively static, with primary producers grounded, and habitats remaining stable for larger and longer spatial and temporal scales. The ocean is different than land, and needs to be managed accordingly. One strategy that is increasing in momentum is called dynamic ocean management, which is defined as an adaptive approach that uses near real-time data to inform the spatial and temporal distributions of management or conservation actions.
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My work focuses on collecting the biological and environmental information necessary to work with stakeholders to build tools to support conservation and management goals in a multi-use ocean.