I'm interested in how different species interactions (at both the macro- and micro- level) can confer ecosystem resilience to multiple stressors. I'm interested in all species interactions, but I have a particular interest in mutualism, parasitism, and predation. For my master's thesis I looked at how temperature, algae, mechanical wounding, and a symbiotic crab species interacted to affect disease progression in Australian branching corals. In my PhD, I'm looking at how gradients of human impacts (e.g., nutrient enrichment, overfishing) influence key coral mutualisms, parasitisms, and disease prevalence in Moorea, French Polynesia.
My research seeks to understand what drives biodiversity across coastal ecosystems and the importance of diversity for ecological communities under a changing climate. I'm interested in ecological redundancy and what species loss means for ecosystem function. On coral reefs I'm interested in how consumer identity influences diet and organisms' roles in maintaining foundation species.
Positive species interactions (i.e. those interactions where at least one species benefits and no species are harmed) are common in stressful environments, such as restored coastal ecosystems. Using a mixture of literature reviews and field experimentation I'm investigating how positive interactions can be integrated into salt marsh, mangrove, oyster, and coral restoration designs to reduce restoration, increase restoration effectiveness, and protect shorelines.
