Note: Unfortunately, this site is hopelessly out of date as family obligations now occupy more time than web design. All of the projects below were components of my PhD thesis, which I finished in 2005. You can find a copy of it here..

Thesis Overview

For the most part, my thesis research is concerned with how organisms survive in the rocky intertidal zone where they are faced with a variety of physical challenges.  My initial project was looking at the hydrodynamic forces experienced by organisms around 1cm in diameter, looking to see whether the topography of the environment provided them with protection from high forces.  I have used this project as a stepping stone to see whether wave forces may be protecting organisms from other physical stresses during low tide, when high temperatures and dessication can be more dangerous than waves.

Wave Force Near Mussels

A series of experiments in which I look at whether hiding at the base of a mussel bed provides organisms with a protected microhabitat.  If, indeed, such protections exist, I am testing how far away from a mussel bed such protection might extend.

Dynomometers

Expanding on experiments done by Mark Denny, Brian Helmuth, George Leonord and others, I am looking at the spatial variation of hydrodynamic forces on a centimeter scale.  By this, I am looking to see whether microhabitats exist in which small (~1cm) organisms might avoid the high water velocities and associated hydrodynamic stresses that other investigators have measured.

T.U.R.D.

The Time Underwater Recording Device is providing insight into links between the wave exposure of a particular location in the intertidal and the environmental conditions experienced by organisms at low tide.