Research

I am an ecologist whose work spans ecotoxicology, community ecology, and the movement of energy and pollutants across ecosystem boundaries. My dissertation research examines how mercury moves through the environment and accumulates in organisms, with consequences for wildlife and the human communities that share these landscapes. But my interest in ecological systems runs broader than contamination alone. I am drawn to questions about how communities are structured, how organisms interact across trophic levels, and how disturbance ripples through interconnected aquatic and terrestrial systems. This has taken me from the longleaf pine forests of Florida to the floodplains of Virginia's South River to the riparian forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon and Highlands. Across these projects I have developed deep field expertise in identifying and sampling a wide range of taxa — songbirds, herpetofauna, small and meso-mammals, spiders and other arachnids, aquatic and terrestrial macroinvertebrates, and emergent insects — as well as in water and sediment chemistry, stable isotope analysis, trace metal quantification, and spatial and landscape analysis. Much of my work has also carried an explicit conservation dimension, from contributing to eastern indigo snake reintroduction efforts to conducting Bachman's sparrow surveys to communicating research findings directly to indigenous Amazonian communities living on mining-impacted lands.

This research shapes how I think about both teaching and public engagement. I believe students develop the deepest understanding of ecological systems — and the strongest connection to the natural world — when they encounter them directly in the field. Learning to identify the plants and animals around you opens your eyes to things previously unnoticed: seasonal changes, species associations, habitat structure. It creates a sense of place that students carry long after a course ends. Beyond the classroom, I try to cultivate that same spirit of curiosity through public writing in The Conversation, talks at birding club meetings, and leading bird walks that introduce people to the natural world for the first time. Whether I am explaining mercury bioaccumulation to a senator's staffer or helping someone identify their first warbler, the goal is the same: making something complex feel alive and worth caring about.

Spiders as sentinnel species for aqua-terresrial mercury transport in tropical riparian systems

My PhD research examines the ecological consequences of mercury contamination associated with artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), the largest global source of anthropogenic mercury pollution. Focusing on tropical riparian systems in South America, I investigate how mercury persists in the environment, is transformed into bioavailable methylmercury, and subsequently moves through aquatic and terrestrial food webs. In particular, my work evaluates the role of emergent aquatic insects in transferring contaminants across ecosystem boundaries and assesses riparian predators, such as spiders, as sentinel species for detecting this process. By comparing regions with long-standing mining activity to those in the early stages of ASGM expansion, my research provides insight into the spatial and temporal dynamics of contaminant exposure and its implications for ecosystem and human health.

The dietary transfer of methylmercury in the South River floodplain

My master’s research at the College of William & Mary examined the dietary transfer of methylmercury across aquatic and terrestrial food webs in the South River floodplain. I sampled wolf spiders and various aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, integrating stable isotope analysis to quantify the relative contributions of aquatic versus terrestrial energy pathways. This work provided insight into the mechanisms driving contaminant exposure in riparian predators and contributed to a broader understanding of how legacy pollution in aquatic systems can influence adjacent terrestrial ecosystems.

Indigo snake reintroduction and bird nest predation monitoring

As a technician working with Dr David Steen and Auburn University, I contributed to an eastern indigo snake reintroduction project in Conecuh National Forest, Alabama. My work focused on characterizing the local bird community and establishing a nest box and camera trap array to monitor nest predation dynamics. This was to help understand how reintroduced indigo snakes, which eat many other snake species that are nest predators, might impact nesting

Science communication and wildlife surveys with the NCWRC

As a Wildlife Conservation Technician with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, I contributed to both field research and science communication. My field work included canoe-based riparian breeding bird surveys, Bachman's sparrow surveys in longleaf pine savannahs, and participation in white-tailed deer translocations. Alongside this fieldwork, I developed and managed a comprehensive public outreach program — including newsletters, a blog, social media, and representation at statewide birding festivals — designed to connect the public with the North Carolina Birding Trail. I also helped redesign the Birder Friendly Business program and co-developed an online ecotourism course for prospective partners through NC State University Cooperative Extension.

Lyme disease ecology

I worked with on a Lyme disease ecology project at Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida as a competitively selected NSF REU fellow. I surveyed tick communities and reptile and mammal host populations using mark-recapture methods, and designed an independent project examining the feeding success of nymphal black-legged ticks on broadheaded skinks and cotton mice — two locally abundant hosts with potentially differing roles in tick population dynamics and Borrelia burgdorferi transmission. Results from this work contributed to posters presented at the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases and the Michigan Mosquito Control Association Conference.

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