I am a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego. I study marine food web ecology and fisheries, and my dissertation investigated the role of albacore tuna as top predators in the North Pacific ocean.
My research experience is broad. As a trained field biologist, I have worked on plant nutrient dynamics in Alaska and Maine, studied coral reef ecology in Australia and the Caribbean, and focused on fish biology and fisheries in the California Current Ecosystem. I have spent considerable time on recreational fishing boats as an observer and collector. I am also a certified research scuba diver. My laboratory work includes genetic sequencing and marine taxonomy. I am well trained in statistics and computer modeling. I have a particular interest in complex systems and applying methodologies from this field to real ecological data. Along those lines, I want to better understand food web topology and the role of interaction strengths in large pelagic (open) food webs.
In addition to my work in biology, I have published manuscripts on detecting oceanographic regime shifts through nonlinear time series analysis (Nature) and the impacts of climate change on rainfall and civil conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa (Political Geography).
