SPOTLIGHT
Using long-term mark-recapture of the notoriously feisty Florida Softshell (Apalone ferox) we modeled the species growth in four dimensions—carapace length, carapace width, plastron length, and shell height—at Wekiwa Springs, FL, USA. For the first 10 to 15 years of life, male softshells grow longer, wider, and faster than females. At 15 years old, females have caught up and are roughly the same dimensions as males. After this, old females keep growing, mostly in length, maxing out around half a meter long and 18 kilos! Building off previous lab research, we used a Bayesian multivariate von Bertalanffy growth model to handle the individual repeated measures of growth in the mark-recapture time series.
Check out the open-access publication!
Check out the open-access publication!
Projections of somatic growth in carapace length, carapace width, plastron length, and shell height for male (tan) and female (brown) Florida Softshell Turtles at Wekiwa Springs, FL. The opposite sex is overlaid on the projection of a given sex for reference.
About Me
|
I am a quantitative ecologist and fisheries scientist studying patterns across the ecological hierarchy in search of the processes that link individuals to populations, populations to communities, and communities to ecosystems. I specialize in integrating analytical methods into synthetic models aimed at providing robust inference and filling data gaps. I have applied these integrated models in a broad set of interdisciplinary problems ranging from building risk maps for conservation and natural resource priority species to estimating life history characteristics of data-deficient species. Above all, I enjoy solving puzzles across the natural sciences. With a background in biology and chemistry, it is no wonder that my other interests feature these subjects prominently. I am an avid gardener with a collection of Zingiberales and orchids. I take much of my gardening inspiration by exploring the natural world and especially enjoy hunting for rare plants in situ. I try my hand at photography both in the garden and out exploring so the photos featured here are my own. |
|
My Background I received a B.S. in Biology and B.A in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2011. I stayed on at UNCW for my M.S. to study the spatial and movement ecology of Basking Sharks—graduating in 2013. I then migrated to the University of Florida for my Ph.D. on the role of habitat in structuring aquatic interactions and graduated in 2017. As a postdoctoral researcher, from 2018-2020, and then as an assistant research scientist, I worked on ecosystem-based fisheries management in collaboration with NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. In January 2023, I became an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Fisheries in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at University of Florida.
|
|
