I first became involved in ecological physiology and behavior of marine invertebrates as a research assistant for Dr. Richard Forward at the Duke University Marine Laboratory. My project determined how chemical cues from substrates and predators affect blue crab larval metamorphosis and settlement. After graduation, I received a Fulbright Scholarship and went to New Zealand to study juvenile lobsters with Dr. Russ Babcock. Marine reserves in northeastern New Zealand provided excellent field sites for determining the impact of large predatory fish on juvenile lobsters, Jasus edwardsii. When I returned to the United States, I used these data as part of my master’s thesis with Dr. Richard Vance at UCLA. During these projects, I became intrigued by hypotheses that addressed the “how” and “why” of scientific phenomena. Specifically, I noticed many unusual patterns and behaviors that might be best explained through analysis of the physical factors.

In the Helmuth Lab, I have not yet developed a dissertation plan, but it will be on some aspect of thermal physiology. Despite the lack of a dissertation plan, I have a starting point which is to determine the amount of tidal exposure during the hottest part of the day on a global basis. Then I plan to analyze the effects of exposure on the thermal physiology of intertidal organisms living within different tidal regimes. In addition, I am also particularly fascinated by siphon currents of bivalves and pneumatocysts of algae as competitive components and hope to incorporate these interests into my dissertation research