Expertise

I am interested in how phytoplankton (microscopic algae) cycle nutrients within the upper ocean where light penetrates. My research focuses on the ecology of diatoms, a group of phytoplankton.

My laboratory studies how phytoplankton (marine single-cell plants), especially diatoms, cycle energy and elements in the ocean, and the processes promoting the efficient transfer of their material to higher organisms (e.g. primary and secondary consumers like zooplankton and larval fish).

Recently, I have also worked on examining the role of picocyanobacteria in the global Silicon cycle, specifically those from the genus Synechococcus.

Affiliations

School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University

Associate Professor, Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Alabama

Past Affiliations

Assistant Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Alabama (past)

Communities
Marine Biology, Ocean Sciences
Degrees
PhD, Oregon State University, Oceanography, 2008
BS, Long Island University, Marine Science, 2003