MY SITE
RESEARCH
When doing research, I constantly question whether and how scientific evidence can inform natural resource management decisions, and my ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between science and the conservation of our natural resources. I combine experimental, observational, and synthetic approaches to address both basic and applied questions in environmental sciences and provide fundamental knowledge to preserve, manage, and enhance natural resources and ecosystems. Below are my main research interests and a brief description of how I tackled each in a few of the studies I have done so far.
HUMAN IMPACTS
Human activities directly impact marine ecosystems and biodiversity through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, and ocean pollution. With more than half the world's population living within 100 kilometers of the coast, our activities are increasingly taking their toll on the marine environment. My colleagues and I combined field data and statistical analyses to comprehend better how our activities affect the marine environment and how we can mitigate their effects.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Anthropogenically induced global climate change has profound implications for marine ecosystems and the economic and social systems that depend upon them. Rising water temperatures, acidification, low oxygen levels, and extreme weather events can harm marine ecosystems and communities connected to these systems. By performing field investigations before and after high-intensity storms, we assessed how climate-related events affected the number of species, beta diversity, and metacommunity organization of coastal assemblages.
SANDY BEACH ECOLOGY
Along our coastlines, no ecosystem is more present in our daily lives than sandy beaches. They make up approximately one-third of the world's ice-free shorelines and provide key ecosystem services such as shoreline protection, food provision, and recreation. However, sandy beaches remain the least studied coastal environment. To better understand sandy beach biodiversity and functioning, my colleagues and I have sampled a large number of beach ecosystems to investigate how they are shaped by environmental and human variables.
BIOINDICATORS
Over the past few decades, the accelerating extinction rates have increased the effort to assess biodiversity. The limited funding for conservation and the time-consuming work to sample and identify organisms, however, usually preclude a complete biodiversity assessment. The use of bioindicators (organisms that are utilized to screen the health of the natural ecosystem) may help us in this matter. It is a cost-effective and fast approach to detect environmental changes, which efficacy on coastal environments has been tested by my colleagues and I.
POPULATION BIOLOGY
Population biology studies provide robust information for understanding how populations change in space and time, thereby assisting in the management of stocks of commercially and ecologically important species. They are also a powerful tool in ecosystem conservation programs with applications in energy flow studies, trophic ecology, and assessment of environmental stress. To inform fishery and management agencies, we have investigated the reproduction and population dynamics of marine invertebrate species such as the clam Anomalocardia brasiliana (photo) and the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata.
COMING SOON
CITIZEN SCIENCE
Citizen science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge. Although less structured than monitoring schemes, citizen science data are high in quantity and have delivered substantive insights into ecological impacts as climate change and habitat loss. My research still needs a robust citizen science component, but this is a significant goal I hope to accomplish soon (looking for partners).
See the full list of publications here