My Ph.D Research
My research focused on the relationship between coral-reef fish and mangroves of Honduras. Specifically, I studied the correlation between coral-reef juvenile abundance and (1) mangrove habitat characteristics, (2) prey availability, and (3) distance from the prop-roots through surveys and controlled experiments. Before I began my correlation studies, I first surveyed coral-reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove prop-roots to establish which fish species were nursery fish. Nursery species spend their juvenile and adult stages in separate habitats, and it is hypothesized that nurseries enhance density, survival, and growth of juvenile fish before moving into adult habitats. To test this hypothesis, I performed extensive visual surveys on mangrove-rich and mangrove-poor islands, comparing ratios of non-nursery and nursery fish species.
Posted May 2011 | Comment
Future Interests
Bioacoustics, effects of anthropogenic marine pollution on behaviour and survival of marine organisms, tropical marine ecology, conservation education
Posted May 2011 | Comment
Extra Curricular Activities
I am a very active person, which is why the busy and hectic schedule of science suits me. When I am not doing fieldwork or in the lab, I am usually outdoors. I have been involved in the rowing world for over ten years, starting as a very clumsy novice rower and ending up coaching successful college and University boats. However, my new love (or hate at times) are triathlons. Triathlons are perfect for my body (I am prone to repetitive motion injuries), and I never get bored running, swimming, and cycling with my husband and my friends. In fact, some of my best memories are swimming in exotic places during our travels (Lake Bled, Slovakia; Lake Atitlan, Guatemala; Lake Faaker See, Austria; Timothy Lake on MT Hood, Oregon, USA to name a few). Other than sports and travel, sometimes I like to take the dog for a walk, bake some cookies, or just curl up with a good book.I am a very active person, which is why the busy and hectic schedule of science suits me. When I am not doing fieldwork or in the lab, I am usually outdoors. I have been involved in the rowing world for over ten years, starting as a very clumsy novice rower and ending up coaching successful college and University boats. However, my new love (or hate at times) are triathlons. Triathlons are perfect for my body (I am prone to repetitive motion injuries), and I never get bored running, swimming, and cycling with my husband and my friends. In fact, some of my best memories are swimming in exotic places during our travels (Lake Bled, Slovakia; Lake Atitlan, Guatemala; Lake Faaker See, Austria; Timothy Lake on MT Hood, Oregon, USA to name a few). Other than sports and travel, sometimes I like to take the dog for a walk, bake some cookies, or just curl up with a good book.
Posted May 2011 | Comment
