Interests

My research interests are at the interface of population ecology and conservation biology. I focus on studying recruitment and dispersal to better understand the dynamics and structure of populations and communities in tropical and temperate aquatic ecosystems, with a goal of informing conservation and management decision making. The persistence and resilience of aquatic populations in the face of disturbances is fundamentally linked to the degree of connectivity and gene flow among populations. Spatial conservation planning, such as protected areas, have been advocated as one method to reduce the stresses to aquatic populations. As such, there is a strong need to characterize the patterns of connectivity and gene flow among populations and forecast changes in these patterns in response to human-induced environmental stressors. My research aims to inform our understanding of the patterns and processes underlying marine connectivity and gene flow and test hypotheses about the effects of changes in these patterns on the persistence and resilience of populations. My approach to research is multi-disciplinary emphasizing empirical analysis and involves advanced population genetic analyses and biogeochemistry, including otolith microchemistry, as well as intensive field-based observational studies.