Welcome!

Simply, I consider myself an environmental physiologist, with a preference for asking questions about how environmental changes alter animal physiology. Furthermore, I have a strong interest in understanding how individuals to populations exhibit differences in plasticity and resilience to external changes in the environment, specifically why do some "win" while others "lose". But in reality, I think of myself as an educator, a mentor, a scientist, and an advocate.

My current research focuses on how temperature impacts the growth and energetics of teleost species, like Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Recent work has begun to illucidate why animals are getting smaller as the result of increasing temperature, and defining the associated mechanism. One prevailing idea is that gill surface area (GSA) could be a limiting factor, which has been described in the Gill-Oyxgen Limitation (GOL) hypothesis. This research is being completed in collaboration with NOAA - Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), University of Massachusetts - Amherst, the University of California - Davis, and the USGS S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center.

Previous work, has included investigating the acid-base physiology of estuarine teleosts, red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and orange spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). The primary goals of the study are to determine the resilience of estuarine teleosts to ocean acidification, and determine the plasticity of their acid-base regulatory machinery to ocean acidification and beyond. This work was supervised by Dr. Andrew Esbaugh as part of my Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin.

My research strengths include early life development, acid-base regulation, ionoregulation, temperature physiology, and stress physiology. In order to accomplish said research goals I have built a tool-box of skills, which include: state of the art molecular techniques, protein assays, microscopy, fish rearing, respirometry, and animal care. 

Work beyond my dissertation has included field seasons at Academia Sinica, Taiwan and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. I also have a dedicated blog for my field research experiences, general travel, photography, and public outreach (www.dynamicfish.wordpress.com).