Current projects: FEEDING & FEAR
The fOraging Ecology of coral reef fishes
FEEDING:
A fish has to eat! I am interested in understanding the foraging behavior of fishes through their anatomy and biomechanical ability. I use museum collections and live behavioral experiments to assess changes in feeding behavior of wrasses (Family: Labridae) throughout development and understand their ecological role on reefs.
FEAR:
It's a fish eat fish world out there! I use foraging theory and patch use experiments in the field to quantify the tradeoffs of foraging and predation risk in a common Hawaiian fish. This approach may serve as a behavioral indicator of habitat quality from a fish's point of view.
I also use predator-prey theory to mathematically model vigilance behavior. Through these models we can better understand how behavior impacts population and community dynamics. I am especially interested in understanding prey behavior in places where risk might be very high, such as in pristine coral reef habitats with inverted biomass trophic structure.
A fish has to eat! I am interested in understanding the foraging behavior of fishes through their anatomy and biomechanical ability. I use museum collections and live behavioral experiments to assess changes in feeding behavior of wrasses (Family: Labridae) throughout development and understand their ecological role on reefs.
FEAR:
It's a fish eat fish world out there! I use foraging theory and patch use experiments in the field to quantify the tradeoffs of foraging and predation risk in a common Hawaiian fish. This approach may serve as a behavioral indicator of habitat quality from a fish's point of view.
I also use predator-prey theory to mathematically model vigilance behavior. Through these models we can better understand how behavior impacts population and community dynamics. I am especially interested in understanding prey behavior in places where risk might be very high, such as in pristine coral reef habitats with inverted biomass trophic structure.
past projects
round goby competition in streams
As a master's student at Loyola University Chicago, I was interested in understanding fish behavior and biological invasion through the window of evolutionary game theory. The aim of my thesis was to quantify and qualify the relationship between a native species of darter and an introduced species (Neogobius melanostomus) of similar ecological and trophic status. My specific objectives were 1. determine habitat use of each species in WI streams, 2. quantify diet overlap through gut content analyses, and 3. utilize patch use experiments to quantify interspecific foraging behaviors of the round goby and johnny darter.
acoustic telemetry of coastal atlantic fishes
I used mobile and stationary acoustic telemetry to track the habitat use and estuarine residence time of the smooth dogfish. The dogfish were found to persist in the New Jersey estuary throughout a large coastal upwelling event and their residence time was longer than perviously hypothesized.
To address the small scale movement patterns of two popular sports fishes, the spotted sea trout and red drum, I helped develop a hands-free tracking device. Through the use of this kayak mounted system we were able to track the tidal movement patterns of these two fishes into the shallow habitats of Charleston's salt marshes.
To address the small scale movement patterns of two popular sports fishes, the spotted sea trout and red drum, I helped develop a hands-free tracking device. Through the use of this kayak mounted system we were able to track the tidal movement patterns of these two fishes into the shallow habitats of Charleston's salt marshes.
Fish aggregating devices as instrumented observatories (FADIO)
Fish aggregating devices (FADs) are widely used in Indian Ocean tuna fishery practices. As part of the FADIO project we addressed the "concentration of food supply" hypothesis, which proposes that pelagic piscivores utilize FADs for predation upon smaller aggregated fishes. Through stomach content analyses of yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and dolphinfish, we compared diets to observations of FAD fishes. Wahoo and dolphinfish did exploit resources aggregated at the FADs, while yellowfin tuna did not. Yellowfin tuna and dolphinfish were opportunistically feeding upon surface swarms of stomatopods.