I’m a natural resource economist in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida. My background as an ecologist allows me to understand the fundamental challenges facing the environment from a systems perspective, while my training as a natural resource economics provides a framework to offer/assess potential solutions to these challenges. I’ve successfully worked in both terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Research Projects:
Ecological and Economic Impacts of Land Use and Climate Change on Coastal Food Webs and Fisheries:
Increasing human activities (land use change, fisheries, and habitat modifications) and climate change (sea level rise and changes in temperature/precipitation patterns) present serious challenges for sustaining fisheries resources and coastal economies. Some of the most dramatic influences of these stressors include changes in the quantity and quality of freshwater delivered to estuarine systems, with major impacts on salinity regimes and nutrient loading. Overall, changes in freshwater quantity and quality can affect estuarine productivity and cascade through food webs to influence benthic invertebrates, forage fishes, and ultimately fisheries, aquaculture and tourism. This interdisciplinary project evaluates how basin-wide changes in land/water use and climate will influence the quality of natural resources in the Suwannee River estuary. Furthermore, this research allows for the ability quantify the economic impacts of future conditions on coastal communities |
Wildfire Risk and Management Preferences in the Southeastern United States:
The southeastern U.S. region, home to 34% of the nation’s forest and is the largest timber-producing region in the country, has been experiencing an increase in the size and intensity of wildfires. Two factors contributing to this increase are weather and fuel (dead vegetation or vegetation on the ground that is highly flammable). As weather will continue to be altered as a result of climate change (i.e. increased temperatures and changes in precipitation), fuel management can be used to mitigate wildfire risk and resulting damages. Unlike the West, where forested land is typically publically managed, the majority of forests are managed by non-industrial private forest landowners. Given that these private landowners have a diverse array for owning forest, there is a need to understand landowners’ current perceptions of wildfire risk, source of management information, and current management practices undertaken on their property. In addition, this research explores preferences and potential reactions to hypothetical fuel management cost-share policies. |
Effects of Increased Seawater Temperature on Marine Aquaculture:
Utilization and exploitation of marine resources is rapidly increasing to meet the needs of a growing population. The use of aquaculture, or water farming, in coastal environments has been called upon to assist in meeting this demand. Simultaneously, the marine environment in which aquaculture is dependent on is changing as a result of climate change. Investigating how these changes in the marine environment will affect aquaculture production is vital for exploring management strategies for mitigation and to estimate the potential economic consequences of affected coastal nations. This research evaluates the potential ecological and economic effects of increasing seawater temperature on a single aquaculture industry in French Polynesia, the black pearl industry. Black pearls are produced by manipulating black-lipped pearl oysters and account for 60% of the French Polynesia’s total export earnings. Thus, changes to the production or growth of the black-lipped pearl oyster, as a result of increased seawater temperature, can influence the quantity and quality of black pearls produced. By using a simulated bioeconomic model, potential economic consequences for black pearl producers can be estimated and production strategies which ameliorate these consequences can be highlighted. |
Previous Research:
Want more? Here are some photos from the fieldwork highlight reel.
Want more? Here are some photos from the fieldwork highlight reel.