|
Research
Interests:
I am a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Brian Bowen, whose research
interests include the phylogeography and conservation genetics of
marine vertebrates. I am using microsatellites as a genetic marker
to study the population structure, genetic diversity, patterns of
dispersal, and the age and stability of Pacific stocks of two species
of deepwater snappers, Ehu (Etelis carbunculus) and Onaga
(Etelis coruscans). These fishes occur throughout the Indo-Pacific
Ocean at depths of 90 to 400 meters, and support major fisheries
in Hawaii and across the West Pacific. However, recent stock assessments
in Hawaii, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands indicate
substantial declines in the snapper fishery. Effective conservation
and management strategies for commercially targeted marine fishes
require knowledge of their population structure. Therefore, I am
using molecular genetic data to infer population structure in these
snappers by quantifying the degree of genetic relatedness between
geographically isolated populations.
In
addition to my current research, I hope to continue previous molecular
work I've done with sharks. I recently completed my M.S. degree
from the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, where I studied the global
phylogeography of all three species of thresher sharks (Alopias
pelagicus, A. superciliosus, and A. vulpinus).
Thresher sharks are widely targeted by commercial and recreational
fisheries, and recent studies indicate large population declines
in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. My data provide evidence for
significant genetic differentiation among thresher shark populations;
therefore, international cooperation will be required for the sustainable
management of these species, which are vulnerable to exploitation
because they grow slowly, produce few offspring, and have long inter-birth
intervals.
|
