Research

Our research in the Community Ecologhy Laboratory at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science focuses on the field of benthic ecology, with a concentration in the dynamics of soft-sediment estuaries and coastal benthic habitats. Our goal is to address the important factors influencing benthic community structure and, in turn, the effects that the benthic community has on upper trophic levels.
Source-Sink Dynamics in Marine Systems

We use extensive population data and a population model with dispersal to test hypotheses concerning survival, growth, reproduction, and dispersal between subpopulations in putative source and sink habitats for the Baltic clam Macoma balthica.