Welcome!
Broadly, I am a marine invertebrate enthusiast. My interest in the marine world and science has been, in part, shaped by my love of nature and my past involvement with the St. Mary's River Watershed Association doing oyster restoration and community outreach.
My research focuses on bivalve tolerance to environmental stressors during early life stages - from fertilization and larval stages into the juvenile stage. I'm interested how larval exposure to combinations of stressors (low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and elevated temperature) influences larval physiology and energy budgeting, and potential carry-over effects into later life stages.
Currently my work focuses on the potential for acclimatization to pH and dissolved oxygen stress in the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) and assesses plasticity in larval energy budgeting, the development of the clam microbiome, and how environmental perturbations influence clam-microbiome interactions.
My research focuses on bivalve tolerance to environmental stressors during early life stages - from fertilization and larval stages into the juvenile stage. I'm interested how larval exposure to combinations of stressors (low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and elevated temperature) influences larval physiology and energy budgeting, and potential carry-over effects into later life stages.
Currently my work focuses on the potential for acclimatization to pH and dissolved oxygen stress in the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) and assesses plasticity in larval energy budgeting, the development of the clam microbiome, and how environmental perturbations influence clam-microbiome interactions.