Skills
My research interests are in protistan (phytoplankton and protozoa) and zooplankton ecology, molecular diversity, food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycling. I address research questions on how natural and anthropogenic processes (i.e. coastal eutrophication and ocean acidification) impact plankton assemblages and how changes in community structure and diversity impact matter and energy flux through aquatic systems. To discern the ecological and biogeochemical roles that plankton play I employ molecular and genetic techniques in combination with more traditional approaches (i.e. microscopy and culture) in the field and in laboratory experiments. Research opportunities have allowed me to investigate plankton assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic (Sargasso Sea), the north-eastern and equatorial Pacific and the Southern Ocean (Ross Sea). v