About

I'm a wildlife biologist interested in herpetology, spatial ecology, aquatic ecology, and conservation. I am broadly interested in answering the who, where, and why of species of greatest conservation need. I especially enjoy spatial modeling, such as assessing drivers and implications of temporal patterns of space use. My current research is focused around stream ecology. I oversee two main projects: the first is investigating the effects that canopy gaps and personality traits such as boldness and willingness to forage under threat of predation have on competitive outcomes of aquatic salamanders. The second project looks at the role of environmental variables which are impacted by small dams and dam blowouts (substrate type, flow) and the presence of invasive species on the body condition of native fish. Each of these studies takes place in unique flow-through systems which replicate natural stream conditions but are able to be manually manipulated, which is important to ensure our results are applicable to the conservation of aquatic wildlife. These projects are a collaborative effort between the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, the University of the South, and Baylor School (a local private high school), and are run with the assistance of volunteers.

My graduate work focused on understanding the long-term temporal variation in spatial use of Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) at the individual, population, and community levels. A collaborative effort between partners at Austin Peay State University, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and Clark County, Nevada, yielded long-term telemetry data from three locations in southern Nevada which I am used to provide insight into the temporal heterogeneity of space use of this unique lizard that lives decades in the wild.

I am an adaptable field and quantitative ecologist who strives to participate in impactful research. As an undergraduate I conducted a project examining habitat preferences of songbird species in an Appalachian old-growth forest, and completed a thesis to determine the impacts of poultry-rearing facilities on stream fish diversity in a South Carolina river basin. I have also assisted in long-term monitoring projects for herpetofauna of the American southwest and for fish and turtles in the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Feel free to peruse the research pages of this site to learn more about these projects.

When I'm not working, I enjoy finding local birds and herptiles, volunteering at the local animal shelter, and hiking, climbing, and paddleboarding with my partner, Jesús, and dogs, Yosie and Obed. On a rainy day you can find me reading, cooking vegetarian meals, playing video games, climbing indoors, or training my dogs! I helped train service dogs for three years and try to keep my training skills sharp.