Research

My research interests include the impacts of physical oceanography on species distributions and how these bio-physical interactions may drive the biogeography of mid and upper trophic levels, as well as marine debris and microplastics. I am interested in not only the biogeography of my target species, but the mechanisms that drive their biogeography, including the interactions between animal behavior and physical phenomena. While most of my research has focused on the Antarctic, I am interested in answering these types of questions in a variety of ecosystems, using a combination of in-situ observations, physical ocean models, and ecological modeling techniques.

Current Projects

Penguin Response to Simulated Krill Hotspots

I am studying how penguin colony size, reproductive success, and location may be driven by oceanographic features such as high retention and or influx of simulated krill. I am using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to simulate the physical oceanography around the West Antarctic Peninsula. Within this model, I am simulated krill vertical migration behaviors to help understand krill distributions and how the retention and/or influx of simulated krill may be related to penguin colony metrics. I plan to utilize satellite-based penguin diet estimates to determine if penguins are utilizing the areas of modeled high retention and/or influx of simulated krill. This project is funded by the NSF Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.

Baleen Whales in the New York Bight

In a project funded by the New York State Research and Development Authority, I am using autonomous underwater glider data and passive acoustics to describe baleen habitat use and build habitat suitability models for baleen whales in the New York Bight.

Marine Debris

We used buoyant particles within ROMS to simulate marine debris transport and identify possible sources of marine debris along the WAP. This work was published in Environmental Pollution and is available on my publications page. Based on this work, we are testing survey techniques along the Peninsula to survey for marine debris on beaches. In addition, we are currently seeking funding to understand the horizontal and vertical distribution of microplastics in the region.

Previous Projects

Krill Connectivity along the WAP

Using the simulated krill trajectories, I identified the physical ocean features that drive krill population connectivity and transport pathways along the West Antarctic Peninsula on broad spatial scales. This work was published in Scientific Reports and is available on my publications page.

Project SWARM

Project SWARM was an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort between the University of Delaware, Rutgers University, Old Dominion University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Oregon State University, NOAA Antarctic Living Marine Resources (AMLR), and the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program to determine the physical drivers of an Antarctic biological hotspot, located at Palmer Deep Canyon. As part of my dissertation, I analyzed data from autonomous underwater gliders, acoustic moorings, and the ROMS model to describe a potential mechanism driving the biological hotspot. This project was funded by NSF. My contributions to this project have been published and are available on my publications page.

Bioluminescence in Delaware Bay

I participated in a research cruise and glider deployments outside of Delaware Bay examining the distributions of bioluminescent organisms on the continental shelf. This work was done in collaboration with the Office of Naval Research (ONR).