Hello! I am a coastal marine ecologist studying ecosystem dynamics across and within seagrass (Zostera marina, aka "eelgrass") meadows and salt marshes in the Virginia Coast Reserve as part of the Long-Term Ecological Research program (VCR LTER). The VCR is home to the largest successfully restored seagrass meadow in the world, with a long-term dataset of 20 years, and is the perfect setting for assessing carbon dynamics and ecosystem resilience in relation to disturbance and restoration.
These beautiful coastal "blue carbon" ecosystems - seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and mangrove forests - are highly efficient at capturing and trapping carbon, making them key players in our efforts to slow climate change. Additionally, they buffer coastal zones from sea-level rise and storm surge, improve water quality, provide habitat for ecologically and economically important species of fish, water fowl, and invertebrates, and may provide oases for marine life from ocean acidification.
I am particularly interested in how blue carbon ecosystems are influenced by landscape-scale processes and environmental change. Through my research, I aim to elucidate the roles of seascape connectivity, environmental change, recovery, and restoration on blue carbon ecosystem resilience, carbon sequestration, and provisioning of other ecosystem services.
