Staff Staff Research Associate II
I graduated with a BS in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies from Santa Clara University in June 1997 and in May 2005, received a MS in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and San Jose State University. My thesis focused on the survival, movements, and diet of juvenile harbor seals along central California. I've worked as a wildlife biologist with marine mammals, birds, and sea turtles in California, Hawaii, and Baja California Mexico, Sur. My research interests include (in no particular order): food habits, resource and habitat utilization, population biology, island ecology, reproductive strategies, and microbiology.
I am currently working as a Staff Resource Associate II for UC Davis and CDFG on a project entitled: Monitoring and mitigation to address fecal pathogen pollution along the California coast. The monitoring goals of this project include: 1) to compare standard fecal indicator tests with direct detection of specific fecal pathogens for identifying patterns of fecal pollution in space and time, 2) to evaluate promising new techniques for fecal source tracking, and 3) to compare water, shellfish, and sea otters as indicators of nearshore ecosystem health. The mitigation goals of this project include: 1) to use laboratory experiments to evaluate the efficacy of wetlands to reduce the load of fecal protozoa and bacteria in surface waters, and 2) to evaluate an existing wetland for fecal pathogen reduction under natural circumstances.