Mass science communication campaign underway!

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How humans affect tropical coral reefs | Caribbean Sailing Association, St. Maarten

My tea cup and I explain to the Caribbean Sailing Association how humans affect coral reefs (St. Maarten, Oct. 2015). I was invited to give this talk by the non-profit Sailors for the Sea as part of their environmental sustainability symposium at the Caribbean Sailing Association conference in St. Maarten (23 October 2015). It was great talking science and sustainability with such a genuine…

Fishbook: Do prey social networks influence predator effects on reef fishes?

This is a talk I gave at the Western Society of Naturalists conference in Tacoma, Washington on November 14, 2014

An unforgettable sendoff

After researching the coral reefs surrounding the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia since 2009, and in my final hours on the island, I was fortunate enough to see a side of nature I had never seen before. This encounter made me feel a connection with these animals and, more importantly, reassurance that we are all connected. Video: Mike Gil Photo: Heather Hillard Music: Starálfur…

Epic science alliance: Euro-‘Merican adventures

Suddenly, I find myself smack dab in the middle of another summer doing field research on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. I have been fortunate enough to have this place become a home away from home for me for the past four years, yet it still never ceases to amaze me. For example, this is what I saw on the first night…

Marine Biology Maestro in Mexico

I spent the better part of last month in Akumal, Mexico, co-instructing a field course in marine biology for juniors and seniors at the University of Texas at Austin (my alma mater). This course and I go way back, actually: I was enrolled as an undergraduate in summer 2007, I was a guest researcher in 2009 (when it was held in Puerto Rico, due…

Sailing to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Tomorrow, I set sail aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans (a 135-ft brigantine sailing vessel, pictured below), bound for ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’. On this timely expedition, I will be working alongside an eclectic group of scientists, educators, outreach coordinators, jounralists and sailors, all with the same simple goal in mind: collect data that allow us to better understand the effects of plastic…

Sailing away from an epic summer field season

Well, I am finally back in the US of A, after a 3-month field season in French Polynesia. This was my 6th trip to the island of Moorea and my third summer there, conducting my dissertation research. But on this trip in particular, everything seemed to work out very well, on multiple fronts: several successful (and, as is expected, several not-so-successful) field studies, reuniting…

Moorean Creatures of the Deep, Large and Small (Part 2)

Below I’ve included my favorite macro shots that I’ve taken so far of sea life   in Moorea this summer. This particular group of shots was collected while on a night snorkel on Gump Reef, which is adjacent the the research station where I reside and literally 3 meters from my front doorstep. In just an hour of snorkeling around in 1-2 m depths, we encountered some…

Moorean Creatures of the Deep, Large and Small (Part 1)

Out here on Moorea, we spend our days diving and snorkeling to study the reef, and, as such, we get some pretty incredible photo opportunities. The trouble is, our boat is usually so packed with gear that bringing a clunky dive camera is often not an option (this thing is a bit of a monster). However, I also use photos to monitor my experiments;…