Climate change and kelp forest ecosystems: thermal tolerance in purple sea urchins
Marine heat waves have resulted in record high sea surface temperatures across the California coast, impacting marine systems and urchin recruitment dynamics. As marine heat waves become more frequent, it will be important to understand the effects of temperature on development and how temperature rises may facilitate increases in settlement along the California coast. I am interested in both the adult and larval life history stages of purple sea urchins and the influence of temperature, food availability, and location of origin.
|
Four day old urchin larvae used in experiments.
|
Ecological selectivity and extinction risk in terrestrial vertebrates
For my Master’s thesis at the Univ. of Hawaiʻi at Hilo in Dr. Matt Knope’s lab, I was a research assistant and led a team of six undergraduates and one high school student to assemble a massive ecological trait dataset (habitat, feeding, and locomotion) for over 25,000 terrestrial vertebrate species. When leading the group of undergraduate and high school students for my project data collection, I learned how to manage schedules for multiple students, mentor young scientists in the beginning stages of their biology careers, and maintain productivity while providing a safe and enthusiastic work environment. After data collection, using recently published large-scale, species level, molecular phylogenies and phylogenetic comparative methods, I tested whether the extinction risk status (from IUCN Red List) is related to their ecological traits. Diverse vulnerabilities were revealed for each taxonomic class and evolutionarily conserved ecological traits predicted present-day extinction threat. I also identified agriculture, followed by logging, and invasive species and disease systematically expose a greater number of species to extinction threat. Through this work, I was awarded funding to present my results at national and international meetings and I have published the manuscript to Conservation Biology. My research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology Fellowship. (2017-2019)
|
Native Hawaiian forest conservation: soil arthropod and caterpillar mandible identifications
After graduating with my Master’s degree, I began my employment with U.S. Geological Survey, based out of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park as an entomology technician. For my entomology position, I investigated arthropod community composition in response to native forest restoration. Micro and macro arthropods were collected within the native forest experimental plots using Berlese funnels and sorted from leaf litter. Arthropods were subjected to isotope analyses to determine trophic level and ecosystem roles.
Additionally, caterpillars from the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge were collected and reared to elucidate the diets of native Hawaiian forest birds. Previously, it was unknown the types and quantity of caterpillars consumed by the native birds. Because caterpillar mandibles are the only remaining body part of the caterpillars in the bird after digestion, we use these mandibles to identify the birds' food items. This research helps determine which caterpillar species to preserve to ensure native Hawaiian birds have available food resources. (2020-2021) |
Eradication of invasive fishes in Hawai'i's National Parks
At USGS, I held a split appointment as an entomology technician and an invasive species technician. For my invasive species position, I developed methods to eradicate invasive fish from anchialine pools at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park and Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. I conducted aquarium trials to test native (snails, opae ula) and non-native (mosquito fish, Mozambique tilapia, common guppy) species sensitivity when exposed to reduced pH. I gained experience conducting aquarium experiments, which has provided an outlet to independently design experimental research. Recently, pH thresholds required to eradicate invasive species that occur in coastal anchialine ponds found on Hawaiʻi Island, that are home to a number of endangered taxa have been identified. Elevated CO2 concentrations were diffused into the aquarium water to lower pH and the behavior and mortality of both invasive and native species were measured. (2020-2021)
Aquaculture Hawaiian fish, algae, and plankton & Reef conservation
My position as an aquaculture technician were based at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center in Hilo, Hawaii. My main responsibilities included constructing aquaculture facilities for rearing ornamental fish, algae, rotifer, artemia, and copepod cultures. The daily routines included feeding, construction and plumbing of rearing systems, and maintaining ornamental fish and plankton systems. The algae fed the plankton and the plankton fed the juvenile and adult ornamental fish. The purpose of aquaculturing ornamental fish is to provide the aquarium trade with captive-bred individuals without removing individuals from wild populations. In addition, a genetic analysis was conducted on the Hawaiian Flame Wrasse fishes to determine population connectivity between the main Hawaiian Islands. This work was presented in 2018 at the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference on Oahu, Hawaiʻi. (2017-2019)
|
Otolith age-growth relationships in an invasive fish species on Hawai'i Island
As a research assistant in the Grabowski Fisheries Lab at University of Hawaii at Hilo, we examined age-growth relationships in an invasive fish species on Hawaii Island. Our research team used otolith aging, the analysis of age-growth patterns from fish ear bones, for the non-native reef fish, Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira), to determine the extent of invasion in the Hawaiian Islands. In an effort to quantify the temporal and geographic differences between previous work done in Hawaiʻi, the objectives of our study were to 1) construct an age and growth model for Bluestripe Snapper, 2) compare this model to historic populations in Hawaiʻi, and 3) compare the differences in growth models between east and west sides of the Island of Hawaiʻi. Bluestripe snapper were caught either by hook and line or by spear fishing from various sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Most sampling locations were located on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi due to proximity and ease of collection by our research team but a limited number of samples were also collected from Niʻihau and donated to the study. Otoliths were extracted from Bluestripe snapper and aged. Fish identification, total length, age in years, back calculated age in years, back calculated total length, and growth per year were measured and recorded.
|
Amphibian population response to chytrid fungus in Costa Rica
I was an amphibian field technician employed by Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and based in Costa Rica to assist a PhD student with field work. The goal of the research was to understand the dynamics of rebounding amphibian populations after the massive decline due to chytrid fungus. My main responsibilities included hiking through the jungle at night identifying frogs, collecting mark-recapture information, swabbing frog skin for fungus analysis, and clipping frog toes for future genetic analysis. The main objective we accomplished was to predict sites for possible rebounding populations of amphibian persistence in sites across Costa Rica. (2017)
|
Zooplankton response to anthropogenically induced climate change
As a zooplankton laboratory assistant in Dr. Mark Urban’s Lab at the University of Connecticut, my main responsibility was cultivating live micro-algae and feeding live zooplankton. The live algae were used to feed zooplankton, which served as subjects in experiments to test for the effects of anthropogenically induced climate change. To simulate changing environments, zooplankton were exposed to warmer temperatures, high levels of hypoxia, and increased acidity. This study provided predictions for how climatic variation affects the vulnerability of populations in the future. I also assisted with sorting and identifying preserved wild zooplankton samples to serve as a baseline comparison to laboratory reared organisms. (2015-2017)
Gut content DNA metabarcoding analyses in invasive mesophotic lionfish (Pterois volitans)
As a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) intern at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, I used DNA barcodes to determine the gut contents of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) found on deep coral reefs to gain important insights into the impact of lionfish predation during invasion of a novel ecosystem. The internship provided valuable molecular biology experience. My project explored the invasive lionfish predation patterns in the poorly understood mesophotic (“twilight zone”) reef ecosystems between 200-500 feet deep. The entire contents of each specimens’ stomach were removed, DNA extracted and the DNA sequenced for each sample. I was able to complete the DNA sequencing for hundreds of lionfish gut samples. From this research, I was funded to present my findings as a scientific poster at a national biology conference in New Orleans, LA. (2016)
|
Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project
As a field technician for the Kaua'i Forest Bird Recovery Project, our research team hiked into the Alakaʻi Plateau Swamp in the upper elevations of Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi to monitor native bird populations. The endemic and endangered ʻAkikiki (Oreomystis bairdi) and ʻAkekeʻe (Loxops caeruleirostris) exist only in these montane regions. Our field crew mist netted and banded the rare and endangered birds to monitor abundance of local populations and document new individuals. In addition, because rats and ungulates are detrimental to the persistence of the native birds, we set rat traps across the region and repaired ungulate exclusion fences. (2017)
|