I grew up with sandy feet and spent much of my time exploring outside.  After dropping out of college the first time and spending several years hang gliding and surfing, I decided that the science of Natural History was far too exciting, and I needed to go back to school to pursue my education.  Since then I have studied the evolution and ecology of Poison frogs in the Amazon, Mangroves in the Caribbean, and now focus on coral reefs. 

 

I’m interested in the role of the relationships between organisms, such as parasitisms and mutualisms, in the creation and maintenance of biodiversity over ecological and evolutionary time.  I currently work with crabs of the genus Trapezia and their coral hosts.  I’m on this expedition to help document the marine biodiversity of the area, and explore hypotheses regarding how ecology can influence the patterns of biodiversity and biogeography we see in marine organisms.