I am a postdoctoral fellow, funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs. My current project is a study of top-down and bottom-up effects on amphipod distributions in Antarctic near-shore waters. I will, in particular, be focusing on fish predation and the chemical and structural characteristics of algae, and how they affect amphipod host-alga choice. I’ll be SCUBA diving to collect animals and algae, and performing a series of laboratory experiments in aquaria. I leave for Palmer Station in Feb 2008!

My doctoral work investigated the ultraviolet defenses employed by coral reef and temperate tidepool fishes (i.e., “fish slime sunscreen”). I have previously worked on ultraviolet vision and communication in fishes, cleaning symbioses between marine turtles and coral reef fishes, and I also did a stint working for the State of Hawaii coordinating research efforts within the Papahānaumokuākea (Northwest Hawaiian Islands) Marine National Monument.