I am an ecologist whose research focuses on the impacts of climate change on the physiology and ecology of reef-building corals. I am specifically interested in bridging scales of functional responses of corals and coral reef communities to environmental change using empirical and theoretical approaches. I utilize manipulative laboratory and field experiments across functional scales and life-history stages to determine the impacts of environmental stressors on the physiology and demographics of corals, which can be combined with ecological models to evaluate how results from small-scale manipulative experiments scale to long-term, community-wide impacts.
My master's research focused on the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on species interactions among scleractinian corals, under the guidance of Prof. Peter Edmunds at California State University, Northridge. My research took place in Mo'orea, French Polynesia, Okinawa, Japan, and Monaco, utilising a combination of flume and tank experiments to determine the interactive effects of OA and competition among corals on the physiology of multiple coral species. In turn, I combined the results from these experimental studies with decadal-scale analyses of coral demographics and community structure into an individual-based model to simulate coral community dynamics under both present-day conditions and OA.
For my PhD research, my research focused on the effects of local stressors, such as overfishing, nutrient enrichment, and algal phase-shifts on coral recruitment dynamics and reef recovery in Palau, Micronesia (photo of one of the study reefs above), under the guidance of Prof. Peter Mumby at the University of Queensland. The research employed a combination of tank and field experiments, and empirical modelling. Much of the research focused on members of the pervasive macroalgal genus Lobophora, demonstrating the ability of Lobophora to impair the survival of coral larvae and inhibiting their settlement through the release of allelochemicals.
My current research focuses on the physiological response of scleractinian corals to thermal stress, working with Dr. Daniel Barshis at Old Dominion University. The research aims to determine if short-term, acute exposures (< 24h) to thermal stress can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine the thermal tolerance of different coral populations and coral species in response to natural thermal stress events that typically take places over multiple weeks. The validity of such a diagnostic approach will be assessed by comparing a variety of physiological response metrics during and following acute and chronic heat-stress exposures to determine the most suitable approach to rapidly assess coral thermal limits.