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

I joined the unit in January 2011 after completing my Ph.D. at Duke University in September 2010. I have mostly worked with sea turtle and freshwater turtle conservation and population biology, and I branched-out toward sustainable harvest and participatory conservation for my Ph.D. Nonetheless, throughout my career mark-recapture data analysis has been a central theme, first with green turtles (Chelonia mydas) for my undergraduate thesis, then amazon side-necked turtles (Podocnemis spp.) for my Ph.D. dissertation, and now Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) for Postdoctoral research. My work in the Unit, in partnership with the USGS Sirenia Project in Gainesville, FL, involves improving the estimation of demographic parameters for the Florida manatee through the development of novel mark-recapture models and joint analysis of multiple sources of data. . I am interested in wildlife management and conservation of endangered species, particularly in the use of quantitative ecology to inform the management decision process. Wildlife management, population dynamics, mark-recapture data analysis, participatory conservation.