I am a marine biologist with a long-held interest in tropical marine biodiversity. A key question of my research is how communities of species adapt in response to environmental change over ecological and evolutionary timescales.
Through collaborative research projects, I take a multi-faceted approach to biodiversity by applying techniques of genomics, bioinformatics, environmental analyses, paleontology, and taxonomy. These combined data sets allow a detailed dissection of the relative roles of ecological speciation, colonization, habitat filtering, and isolation in the formation of marine communities.
By focusing on a conceptual area of broad relevance, my research bridges multiple domains: while I am a marine biologist, I work closely with terrestrial biologists interested in similar questions; my work is based in the tropics, though the principals apply to temperate systems as well.
Getting all the documents and permits done for Indonesia always feels a bit like a computer game, like a race where you need to pick up different trophies to be allowed to go to the next level. Level one starts months before you head out to Indonesia, gathering together a…
Mostly when you hear about coral reefs in the news, it’s bad. Disease & death. Luckily there are a few bright spots in the world where the reefs are still quite healthy. One of those areas is Raja Ampat, Indonesia. In 2016 & 2017 there were global bleaching events, where…
Day 6. Wild days Wild days on the Saba Bank. Things you take for granted on land, are such complexities on a ship rocking on the grand Sababankian waves. Place a cup on the table – wooosh, it’ll go flying if you don’t hold on to it. Same for plates…