Research Experience

Much of my research career before my PhD was spent investigating a variety of questions surrounding amphibians, primarily salamanders. I did research during my undergrad with Ryan Kerney at Gettysburg College working with amphibian microbiomes. My thesis, which has since been published, focused on algal symbioses with the developing larvae of two species of Ambystoma salamanders. My Master's research in Dennis Murray's lab at Trent University followed the behavioral ecology and physiology of unisexual Ambystoma larvae. I have also mentored undergraduate research with tadpole behavioral ecology and worked as a technician with Zoo New England's Grassroots Wildlife Conservation identifying spaces to be designated as protected vernal pools.

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At ECU I research the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on biodiversity at multiple spatial and temporal scales. When field research was paused at the start of the pandemic, I took the opportunity to work with on a long-term dataset from the Jornada LTER investigating trends in metacommunity structure across 30+ years.

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The bulk of my dissertation focuses on the effects of abiotic and biotic effects on benthic macroinvertebrate communities using large-scale mesocosm experiments. One chapter is a multi-year experiment investigating the effects of predation on insect communities, and another is the effects of nitrogen enrichment. These experimental ponds have also been used for undergraduate research projects on functional diversity and Wolbachia prevalence.