Credentials:
B.S. Environmental Science, Graduation with Distinction, Certificate: Marine Science and Conservation Leadership, Duke University 2014
Research/Career Interests:
My areas of interest pertain to the conservation biology of marine megafauna, particularly cetaceans. More specifically, I am interested in investigating how cetaceans respond to both natural and unnatural forcings within their environment. Populations of humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere are recovering after intense commercial whaling during the last century. Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) this recovery is occurring in an environment that is experiencing the fastest warming of any region on the planet. For my master’s research, I will employ a suite of genetic, biochemical, and photographic techniques to assess the demography of humpback whales along the WAP and how these demographics change with the onset of climate change. Specifically, I will measure changes in sex ratios and quantify pregnancy rates (to my knowledge, the first attempt to quantify pregnancy using non-lethal methods in the Antarctic). I will be working in part with NSF's Long Term Ecological Research Network at Palmer Station, U.S.
Responsibilities:
Graduate research assistant under the advisement of Dr. Ari Friedlaender in the MMI Bio-Telemetry and Behavioral Ecology Laboratory.
Professional Preparation:
Lab Technician: Sex ratios and pregnancy rates of humpback whales along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Conservation Ecology Lab, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 2012–2015.
Lab Technician: Prey DNA analysis from crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) fecal samples. Marine Conservation Ecology Lab, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 2015.
Field/Lab Technician: Ecology and distribution of pelagic cetaceans of Cape Hatteras, NC. Marine Conservation Ecology Lab, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 2013–2015.
Field Volunteer: North Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network. 2014–2015.
Field/Lab Technician: Life history analysis of Platygyra synensis (brain coral) in Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef. James Cook University, Townsville, 2013.
Field Technician: Interactions of mangroves and coral reefs in Bocas del Toro Panama. Duke University Marine Laboratory, Field Intern 2012.
Field/Lab REU Intern: Understanding Changes in a Major Estuary-Salmon Habitat Opportunity in the Columbia River. Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP), Oregon Health and Science University, 2012.
Field Experience and training: Cetacean off shore surveys, photo identification, biopsy sampling and tagging, R.V. Cape Hatteras and R.V. Richard Barber, Marine Conservation Ecology Lab, Duke University Marine Laboratory.
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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