About Me
My research experience covers a broad number of topics in vertebrate ecomorphology - the intersection between anatomy/morphology and species ecology. I am interested in how an organisms' biology has adapted to their environment, diet, and/or behavior. My past research at Texas A&M University at Galveston included how seal whiskers are used to follow trails generated by swimming fish, hormone levels used as a proxy for reproduction and stress in harbor seals and Steller sea lions, nesting recovery efforts for the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, the jaw musculature of Gulf of Mexico shark species, and how salinity affects salt gland morphology in the American Alligator. My PhD dissertation studied the flow-sensing lateral line system in three species of North American freshwater fishes. I studied how their sensory systems develop and how climate change can impact development, as well as how fish use their flow-sensing systems in tandem with their other senses to feed on invertebrate prey.