Coastal Marine Ecology
We employ classic field ecology methods in conjunction with innovative laboratory manipulations and genetic tools to document species interactions, productivity, energy flow and biodiversity in coastal marine ecosystems. Specifically, we are investigating underlying mechanisms driving trophic dynamics and the cascading consequences of these species interactions on energy flow through ecosystems.
In addition, we investigate the context dependency of ecological processes across broad spatial and temporal scales to gain insight into community and ecosystem level responses to anthropogenic changes in climate and biodiversity.
Our work lies at the intersection of basic and applied research: we are able to use easily accessible and manipulable systems to investigate basic questions about community structure, biodiversity and ecosystem function, while also gleaning relevant information to aid in the management of our delicate and valuable coastal resources.
