I enjoy studying interdisciplinary problems in the realm of ecology. I like to use combinations of field studies and mathematical modeling to illuminate key factors influencing sensitive species and habitats. I am particularly interested in the impacts of anthropogenic activity on natural systems and ways to mitigate those effects. Much of my work uses telemetry to track animal movements across space and time. My PhD research was focused on river herring (Alosa spp.) movement behaviors around anthropogenic barriers to their migration, such as tide gates and road-crossings. I also investigated how different predators (e.g. snapping turtles, striped bass) utilized these bottlenecks as ambush locations, further delaying herring migration. My current postdoctoral research at UC Davis is focused on developing a practice standard for rice farmers in California’s Central Valley to flood their fields in winter, providing valuable nursery habitat for juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The practice of flooding the rice farms may have mutual benefits for the farms, fish, birds, and more. We plan to assess what species inhabit these flooded rice fields and if the fields can improve salmon survival to the ocean.