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I am a field biologist and quantitative ecologist interested in conservation and, specifically, human-induced impacts on wildlife.
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My research spans scales from animal behavior and predator-prey interactions to food webs and ecosystem ecology.
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I am broadly interested in promoting open, reliable, and transparent science practices.
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I spend the majority of my free time recreating outside.
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My academic journey (in reverse chronological order)
2021 - 2023: During my postdoc with NOAA Fisheries and Oregon State University I parameterized an end-to-end ecosystem model of the Northern California Current marine ecosystem, which allows us to capture many direct and indirect predator-prey interactions as we strive to understand the marine survival of endangered populations of Columbia River salmon. Through simulation, we are able to assess complex ecosystem dynamics after forcing perturbations such as climate change and alternative management scenarios.
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2017 - 2021: For my PhD dissertation I used speaker arrays and solar equipment (weighing nearly 4 tons!) to experimentally create the soundscapes of whitewater rivers across a landscape. We then monitored bird, bat, and arthropod abundance, behavior, and predator-prey relationships (e.g. diets, foraging tests).
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2016: I was able to spend 3 months following baboon troops around Namibia with the Zoological Society of London's Tsaobis Baboon Project.
2015 - 2016: I spent a year in Germany on a Fulbright research grant studying how noise affects the echolocation capabilities of captive bats.
2014 - 2015: I was fortunate to spend a year in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) studying the effects of noise on the predator-prey interactions of frog-eating bats.
2012 - 2014: I finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Montana, where I spent time working on beetle horn development with the Emlen Lab and exploring Montana's natural resources.
2010 - 2012: I started my academic journey at Cuesta Community College, where field trips to the mountains, deserts, and coasts of California inspired me to study ecology.