Hello! Thank you for visiting my website. I look forward to sharing with you about my research and my goals. I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. I am a member of of the Invasive Species Research group based at UT Austin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory. My supervisors are Dr. Rob Plowes and Dr. Larry Gilbert. I am a broadly trained ecologist who studies species interactions and how they emerge to affect community structure and stability. My research revolves around this question "Why do most herbivorous insects specialize on eating a few plants?" I have worked in a variety of ecological systems and I am experienced with chemical ecology, metabolomics, growth-based greenhouse experiments, long-term observational studies, biodiversity surveys and experimental design. I strive to base my work in the context of natural history and theory. My goal is to apply fundamental ecology towards mitigating ecological and economic issues associated with introduced plants and insects.
My research program is comparative. Currently, I study insect herbivore and parasitoid community structure in grasslands as well as insect interactions with Texas prickly pear cactus. Both projects are motivated by our program goal of naturalizing the invasive species that cause ecological and economic injury in these systems.
Hello! Thank you for visiting my website. I look forward to sharing with you about my research and my goals. I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. I am a member of of the Invasive Species Research group based at UT Austin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory. My supervisors are Dr. Rob Plowes and Dr. Larry Gilbert. I am a broadly trained ecologist who studies species interactions and how they emerge to affect community structure and stability. My research revolves around this question "Why do most herbivorous insects specialize on eating a few plants?" I have worked in a variety of ecological systems and I am experienced with chemical ecology, metabolomics, growth-based greenhouse experiments, long-term observational studies, biodiversity surveys and experimental design. I strive to base my work in the context of natural history and theory. My goal is to apply fundamental ecology towards mitigating ecological and economic issues associated with introduced plants and insects.
My research program is comparative. Currently, I study insect herbivore and parasitoid community structure in grasslands as well as insect interactions with Texas prickly pear cactus. Both projects are motivated by our program goal of naturalizing the invasive species that cause ecological and economic injury in these systems.
Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Heredia Pr., Costa Rica looking west towards the Carribbean. Photo taken above La Selva Biological Station Arboretum -August, 2018.