Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Quantitative Fisheries Center

I earned my B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of South Carolina in 2024. As an undergraduate, I studied the visual ecology and behavior of Atlantic mud crabs and porcelain crabs through research supported by the Magellan Scholar Award. My work examined polarization vision and spatial learning using behavioral assays. I also conducted research on gene expression in Daphnia pulex before joining Georgia Southern University as a RaMP NSF-funded post-baccalaureate fellow.  There, I expanded my research experience by investigating the effects of diet and toxicological exposure on the health, reproductive success, and physiology of sea urchins while also gaining hands-on experience with fish, aquaculture, and recirculating aquaculture systems. The fellowship also provided opportunities to engage with professionals from state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations, broadening my perspective on natural-resource challenges and how they are addressed at different levels of management. Together, these experiences strengthened my interest in applying interdisciplinary research approaches to address ecological questions and produce science that supports fisheries conservation and management.

Research and Areas of Interest:

As a master's student in Michigan State University's Quantitative Fisheries Center, I will evaluate alternative creel survey methodologies for collecting fishery-dependent data on recreational harvest and angler effort across the Great Lakes. My research will examine tradeoffs in data quality, cost, and feasibility to identify efficient and cost-effective approaches that support informed fisheries management decisions. My long-term goal is to pursue a research career combining fish ecology and conservation, particularly population dynamics, behavior, and physiology, with decision science to advance sustainable fisheries management and freshwater fish conservation.