Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

I came to the Maine Unit in January 2008 as a Ph.D. student. I completed my Ph.D. in September 2012 and stayed on for a Post-Doctoral research appointment. My dissertation research examined the role of marine-derived nutrients in Atlantic salmon nursery streams in the Penobscot River watershed. Before joining the Maine Unit I spent a number of years as an educator, teaching in high school classrooms and non-traditional settings in Wyoming, Vermont, and Maine. I completed my M.S. at Dartmouth College in 2001, where I explored the effects of acid rock drainage on stream ecosystem structure and metal bioaccumulation in the New World Mining District in Montana. When I'm not working I enjoy organic gardening, biking, running, swimming, bird watching, and cooking. . I am a broadly trained ecologist with a particular interest in taking a systems view when addressing research questions. This approach has led me to develop skills and knowledge in a number of areas. My research experiences include studies connected to spatial ecology, freshwater ecology, stable isotope ecology, ecotoxicology, and ornithology spanning scales from organisms to ecosystems. I am interested in basic and applied research that can add to the knowledge base and help inform managers, policy-makers, and the general public about key issues related to sustainability and ecosystem resilience. My current research involves working with managers at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR), in Georgia, to...