I grew up in northern California and attended University of Washington for my undergraduate education.  While in Seattle I worked in a molecular biology lab conducting Polymerase Chain Reactions for a project examining the presence of a herpes-like virus in Pacific oysters.  In Fall 2002, I received a research apprenticeship and studied the daily movement patterns of copper rockfish using acoustic telemetry.  In the summer of 2003, an internship with the NMFS at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center sent me to western Aleutian Island.  This project involved a mark-recapture study of Atka mackerel that examined the efficacy of commercial trawl exclusion zones designed to protect prey resources around endangered Stellar sea lion rookeries.  After graduating I worked as a north Pacific groundfish observer for several years.  I started my Master’s degree in fall of 2007 and will examine the food habits of coral reef fish in the US Virgin Islands using both visual and molecular (qPCR) techniques.

Email: tractor@ufl.edu