My research focuses on the interplay between species interactions and abiotic conditions in coastal vegetated ecosystems, combining field observation and experimentation with mesocosm and laboratory experiments. I seek to do research firmly rooted in field observations and natural history that elucidates mechanisms of species interactions, species distributions, and their consequences. My dissertation research in the Hughes lab at Northeastern University examined the ways that environmental conditions influence species interactions in intertidal wetlands. My masters work at William and Mary in the Duffy lab focused on how changing seagrass composition due to range contraction might alter trophic interactions in seagrass communities. Broadly, my ecological research is focused on the following questions.
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How do abiotic and biotic factors affect the outcomes of species interactions?
Investigating how species interactions are both shaped by abiotic conditions and mediate the response to such conditions can lead to a more mechanistic understanding of interactions and their outcomes. Further, many human caused physical and biological changes occurring in coastal ecosystems can progress rapidly and have significant consequences. For example, physical stress is expected to intensify in many intertidal ecosystems as climate change progresses. The amelioration of stressful environmental conditions can depend on the characteristics of species and individuals interacting. Understanding how such abiotic changes and biotic traits can influence ecological communities is of increasing importance.
Factors influencing large-scale species distributions are of particular interest currently, as global climate change is altering abiotic controls on species ranges. However, predicting shifts in species ranges will depend not only on an understanding of changes in climatic factors, but also insight into species interactions that may facilitate or inhibit range expansion. Further, as some habitat forming species extend their ranges and others contract, the gain and loss of species may influence community processes.
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