A little about me

I am a MSc student in Biology at the University of Victoria in the Bates Lab. I am quantifying hotspots of invertebrate diversity on seamounts in the Pacific Northwest and the Azores in Portugal. Using taxonomic and functional diversity patterns together with climate change models, I will investigate how benthic invertebrate communities will be impacted by climate change threats such as loss of dissolved oxygen and rising ocean acidification.

I started my post-secondary educational journey at Fleming College in the School of Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences where I received an Ecosystem Management Technician diploma. Through this program I studied ecosystem composition, holistic restoration, Indigenous and environmental law, and monitored aquatic and terrestrial habitats using field research and various Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques. My research focused on benthic macroinvertebrates and invasive terrestrial plant species.

Upon moving to the west coast of Canada, I received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a Marine Biology concentration at the University of Victoria. During my undergrad, I was introduced to the fascinating world of the deep-sea and completed my honours project on the distribution and substrate preferences of deepsea sole found on Northeast Pacific seamounts. I am an avid teacher and love to share my passion for oceanic life with all audiences.

Research Interests and Overview

My research interests include deep-sea conservation ecology, seamount systems, species traits, and fish biology & behaviour.

Seamount Species

My current MSc research focuses on invertebrate species found on seamounts (underwater mountains). I am studying the distribution of deepsea coral and sponge functional groups in the Northeast Pacific and how the loss of dissolved oxygen will impact their distribution patterns.

Deepsea Sole

My honours research at the University of Victoria focused on the distibution and substrate preferences of deepsea sole, a local flatfish species, on seamounts off the coast of British Columbia.

Spotted Ratfish

During undergrad I conducted a study at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre on the locomotor kinematics of the spotted ratfish focusing on their pectoral fins.