I graduated in May 2014 with a B.A. in Organismal Biology from Scripps College in Claremont, CA. In the Marine Ecology Lab, my work focused on the thermal tolerance of the barnacle Balanus glandula. Examining the effects of different acclimation regimes (constant warm/cold vs. variable) on the thermal tolerance of this species may help improve laboratory methodology in thermal tolerance experiments. At the Lizard Island Research Station in Australia, I tested the efficacy of a new solution for controlling outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns sea star (Acanthaster planci). During summers, I worked in the Ichthyoplankton Lab at Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA). While I mainly sorted and identified ichthyoplankton from the CalCOFI plankton collection, two other projects aimed to genetically identify larval rockfish to determine temporal and spatial changes in rockfish assemblage within the Southern California Bight.
I am very excited to begin graduate research with the Jordaan and McCormick Labs on the effects of realistic stressors on fish populations. I hope to address how stressors change temporally and spatially throughout ontogeny of anadromous fishes and how the effects of these stressors change at each stage of development. It’s important to identify stressors that co-occur and test for interacting effects on organisms, particularly within the scope of climate change and deteriorating water quality. I plan to collaborate with researchers abroad, especially in China, where aquaculture is highly developed, but waterways have been radically altered by dams and water pollution.
I love science outreach and am involved in Science Café and Graduate Women in STEM’s Outreach Committee. Currently, I’m working with other Life Science graduate students on a new outreach blog; more to come soon!