About me
Hi 7th Grade! I am a PhD student in the Biology Department at Northern Arizona University. I grew up catching frogs and exploring forests in Chepachet, Rhode Island, and have since lived in several states (like Colorado, Idaho, Florida, and Massachusetts) and countries (Panama, Costa Rica, and the Philippines) pursuing research positions focused on wildlife conservation and ecology. I am passionate about understanding the natural world, have an affinity for amphibians, and a self-confessed chocolate problem. I also love science, and hope that all of you will too!
My goal working with the K-12 program is to help integrate current research findings and techniques used by myself and other scientists into the classroom. I’d like to empower young students to seek answers and solve problems by showing them real examples, discoveries, and results. I want to help everyone get their hands dirty. There is no better way to learn than to do it yourself, so hopefully we will have ample opportunity to take the lessons we learned in class and do real experiments and field work. I also hope to provide a resource for students interested in learning about the spectrum of scientific career paths that are available. Our future world depends on bright young students in 7th grade classrooms getting excited about science, and I'm here to help. |
My current research investigates the effects of pesticide use in rice agriculture on amphibians, with the aim of informing management practices that promote sustainability and health of rice agricultural ecosystems. Specifically, I am conducting experiments that address some of the following questions:
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Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Do immature sea turtles have distinct developmental habitat preferences? Drs. Peter and Anne Meylan study the ecology and migrations of endangered sea turtles, and often have students from Eckerd College (where I did my bachelors degree) assist with the field work and research projects in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Sea turtles such as Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, and Caretta caretta occupy different habitat types as hatchlings, juveniles and adults. Understanding how they use these different habitats, and when migrations occur, is important to target areas for conservation. |
Research via Citizen Science at Mass Audubon In 2011 I helped run an ongoing research initiative at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary aimed at conserving and monitoring diamondback terrapins (DBT) and recovering cold stunned sea turtles. This work was based upon the support of citizen scientists, who led daily monitoring programs to survey for nesting DBT females and nests, as well as collect data on adults and hatchlings. In the winter, the same hardy volunteers scoured the Cape Cod beaches during storms to recover cold stunned juvenile sea turtles for rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium. The conservation efforts made by Mass Audubon citizen scientists help to protect and study the Cape Cod populations of DBTs as well as rescue hundreds of endangered juvenile Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles that washed up cold stunned on local beaches. Curious? Mass Audubon' sea turtle work New England Aquarium's Animal Sea Turtle Rescue Blog |