Academic Interests
I've always been drawn to environmental and conservation biology. The need to conserve and preserve the planet's natural resources and ecosystems has never been greater. As an educator, it is my goal to expose my students to as many of these issues as possible. Below are some of my most passionate environmental interests.
Tropical Forests
The beautiful countries of Southeast Asia hold unparalleled biodiversity and endemism that are at risk of extinction due to encroachment of human populations and growing consumption. Extensive poverty, profit-hungry corporations, and corrupt politicians threaten these lush ecosystems as these countries try to industrialize, which continues to worsen as population levels increase unabated. The Philippines, one of the most megadiverse countries in the world, is considered to be a lost cause by many due to the environmental issues common throughout the region. Nevertheless, a country filled with nationalistic pride still offers a glimmer of hope. I look to study rainforest conservation along this biodiverse archipelago, in order to preserve and recover as much pristine forest as possible. Specifically, I am interested in maintaining entire communities, and linking communities together to preserve whole ecosystems.
Much of the remaining rainforests across the planet exist in small patches, which has severe implications on genetic diversity, gene flow, dispersal, and the support of top predators. Furthermore, edge influences reduces the amount of core forest, furthering limiting the remaining amount of pristine forest. I aim to better characterize these edge influences, specifically the depth of edge influence. With this knowledge, we can develop and direct restoration ecology practices, in order to enhance the recovery of degraded forests, increase connectivity between forest stands, and facilitate the return of rainforest ecosystems.
I am also interested in alternative conservation practices that mitigate the damage of logging by allowing it to continue under the advisement of conservation biologists and manager. For instance, selective logging practices can maintain and majority of local biodiversity. Another idea is long-rotation logging times that allows conservation managers to regrow forests and minimize the damage of logging to select areas. A third idea is agroforestry–the cultivation of shade-tolerant crops under maintained canopies.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, sustain an abundance of marine biodiversity, and are vital to the maintenance of ocean health. Additionally, coral reefs provide ecological goods and services that sustain the livelihoods of nearly a half billion people from over a hundred countries. Beyond the ocean, coral reefs are crucial for the development and protection of ecologically important seagrass and mangrove communities, and in the preservation of islands and coastal regions. However, coral reefs are undergoing rapid and widespread decline. The extent of the damage paired with a general impairment of regeneration makes natural recovery unlikely. Efforts to protect coral reefs through classic conservation approaches have had little success over the past few decades; passive methods such as the establishment of marine protected areas hold promise to conserve coral reefs, but they have been largely ineffective due to poor management. The recent advent of coral gardening techniques that farm small coral fragments in mid-water nurseries has shown great potential for creating stocks of healthy, growing corals for transplantation (coral gardening) with high rates of success. Even more recent methods of cultivating sexually produced planula (coral larvae) offer a way to introduce genetic diversity to transplantation projects. As such, I am interested in incorporating genetic measures into coral gardening techniques, in an effort to create a toolbox that conservation biologists and managers can use.
Multi-Trophic Aquaculture
The collapse of fish stocks worldwide has been the result of unsustainable fishing practices for multiple generations. Even worse, some fishing practices destroy marine ecosystems like coral reefs and result in wasteful bycatch that is often discarded. Overfishing has the potential to lead to the extinction of commercial species, and the elimination of a single species has the potential to change entire marine communities.
Aquaculture has been seen as a solution to unsustainable fishing. However, aquaculture does not come without its own issues. The removal of wild juvenile stocks from marine environments for use in aquaculture puts stress on wild fish populations; fish-derived protein is often used to raise fish in aquaculture ponds, which is wasteful in terms of food and energy; aquaculture ponds produce large volumes of organic wastes that are harmful to the local environments, and may destroy local coastal communities and ecosystems; and crowded aquaculture ponds raise unhealthy fish.
I’m interested in creating sustainable, multi-trophic aquacultures to reduce stress on ocean stocks and coral reef communities. Multi-trophic aquaculture can be defined as a sustainable way to grow marine plants and animals, as food, in one ecosystem that naturally fights pests. For instance, algae grown in tanks can reduce ammonia and nitrogen gasses and produce oxygen, which aerates the water improving it for the marine flora and fauna. The algae becomes an additional food source for fish (or the algae can be harvested for human consumption). Bivalves, such as mussels, and other filter feeders help sustain a healthy tank by removing decaying organic matter.
By using microbes to create a natural nutrient recycling system, food is produced for the growing fish and there is a reduction in negative environmental impacts such as discharges and effluents. By using plant-based feeds, aquaculture will experience a net gain in fish protein yields. In addition, multi-trophic aquaculture can yield produce such as lettuce and basil in addition to growing fish.
Tropical Forests
The beautiful countries of Southeast Asia hold unparalleled biodiversity and endemism that are at risk of extinction due to encroachment of human populations and growing consumption. Extensive poverty, profit-hungry corporations, and corrupt politicians threaten these lush ecosystems as these countries try to industrialize, which continues to worsen as population levels increase unabated. The Philippines, one of the most megadiverse countries in the world, is considered to be a lost cause by many due to the environmental issues common throughout the region. Nevertheless, a country filled with nationalistic pride still offers a glimmer of hope. I look to study rainforest conservation along this biodiverse archipelago, in order to preserve and recover as much pristine forest as possible. Specifically, I am interested in maintaining entire communities, and linking communities together to preserve whole ecosystems.
Much of the remaining rainforests across the planet exist in small patches, which has severe implications on genetic diversity, gene flow, dispersal, and the support of top predators. Furthermore, edge influences reduces the amount of core forest, furthering limiting the remaining amount of pristine forest. I aim to better characterize these edge influences, specifically the depth of edge influence. With this knowledge, we can develop and direct restoration ecology practices, in order to enhance the recovery of degraded forests, increase connectivity between forest stands, and facilitate the return of rainforest ecosystems.
I am also interested in alternative conservation practices that mitigate the damage of logging by allowing it to continue under the advisement of conservation biologists and manager. For instance, selective logging practices can maintain and majority of local biodiversity. Another idea is long-rotation logging times that allows conservation managers to regrow forests and minimize the damage of logging to select areas. A third idea is agroforestry–the cultivation of shade-tolerant crops under maintained canopies.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, sustain an abundance of marine biodiversity, and are vital to the maintenance of ocean health. Additionally, coral reefs provide ecological goods and services that sustain the livelihoods of nearly a half billion people from over a hundred countries. Beyond the ocean, coral reefs are crucial for the development and protection of ecologically important seagrass and mangrove communities, and in the preservation of islands and coastal regions. However, coral reefs are undergoing rapid and widespread decline. The extent of the damage paired with a general impairment of regeneration makes natural recovery unlikely. Efforts to protect coral reefs through classic conservation approaches have had little success over the past few decades; passive methods such as the establishment of marine protected areas hold promise to conserve coral reefs, but they have been largely ineffective due to poor management. The recent advent of coral gardening techniques that farm small coral fragments in mid-water nurseries has shown great potential for creating stocks of healthy, growing corals for transplantation (coral gardening) with high rates of success. Even more recent methods of cultivating sexually produced planula (coral larvae) offer a way to introduce genetic diversity to transplantation projects. As such, I am interested in incorporating genetic measures into coral gardening techniques, in an effort to create a toolbox that conservation biologists and managers can use.
Multi-Trophic Aquaculture
The collapse of fish stocks worldwide has been the result of unsustainable fishing practices for multiple generations. Even worse, some fishing practices destroy marine ecosystems like coral reefs and result in wasteful bycatch that is often discarded. Overfishing has the potential to lead to the extinction of commercial species, and the elimination of a single species has the potential to change entire marine communities.
Aquaculture has been seen as a solution to unsustainable fishing. However, aquaculture does not come without its own issues. The removal of wild juvenile stocks from marine environments for use in aquaculture puts stress on wild fish populations; fish-derived protein is often used to raise fish in aquaculture ponds, which is wasteful in terms of food and energy; aquaculture ponds produce large volumes of organic wastes that are harmful to the local environments, and may destroy local coastal communities and ecosystems; and crowded aquaculture ponds raise unhealthy fish.
I’m interested in creating sustainable, multi-trophic aquacultures to reduce stress on ocean stocks and coral reef communities. Multi-trophic aquaculture can be defined as a sustainable way to grow marine plants and animals, as food, in one ecosystem that naturally fights pests. For instance, algae grown in tanks can reduce ammonia and nitrogen gasses and produce oxygen, which aerates the water improving it for the marine flora and fauna. The algae becomes an additional food source for fish (or the algae can be harvested for human consumption). Bivalves, such as mussels, and other filter feeders help sustain a healthy tank by removing decaying organic matter.
By using microbes to create a natural nutrient recycling system, food is produced for the growing fish and there is a reduction in negative environmental impacts such as discharges and effluents. By using plant-based feeds, aquaculture will experience a net gain in fish protein yields. In addition, multi-trophic aquaculture can yield produce such as lettuce and basil in addition to growing fish.