Research Interests
I am interested in how climate change, specifically increased temperature and acidification, will alter species interactions in the marine rocky intertidal. I am currently studying how simultaneous and climatically realistic changes to water temperature and pH affect the interaction between the seastar, Pisaster ochraceus, and its mussel prey, Mytilus trossulus. This predator-prey interaction is an ideal study system because both species are well understood ecologically and have profound effects on community structure. More broadly, I am interested in how current threats, such as climate change and invasive species, directly and indirectly influence community functioning. By applying well-studied ecological concepts to changing environmental conditions, we can gain a better understanding of the forces structuring ecological communities as well as how humans may alter those forces. I am currently a graduate student in Dr. Chris Harley's lab at the University of British Columbia.