SCUBA diving is an integral part of my research. I am always in search of opportunities to conduct underwater science, learn from others, and share my passion for the underwater world with those around me through teaching and instruction.
DIVE QUALIFICATIONS I am trained as a Level 1 and Level 2 Scientific Diver through the Canadian Association of Underwater Science. I am also fully trained in the use of full face masks (both remotely and tethered), and am trained as a safety diver to manage the lines of tethered divers both above and below the surface. I was trained at The Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre during 2014 - 2018. I am also a PADI Divemaster, with unique specialities in Drysuit Diving, Lionfish Containment, and Adaptive Support Diving for divers with physical and mental challenges. I have experience working in both local and international settings as a cold water diver on rocky reefs and kelp forests, and a tropical diver on coral reefs and seagrass meadows. |
DIVING FIELD WORK
2019 MSC FIELD SEASON RESEARCH (BAHAMAS)
I conducted a 4-month large scale field experiment with a fellow graduate student research partner, and supervised an undergraduate research assistant. This work was conducted at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. Read about my field season here. 2018 DIVE AND SAFETY OFFICER ASSISTANCE (BARKLEY SOUND, BC) I worked with the Dive and Safety Officer at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre to provide dive assistance for visiting research groups, and organism collection for researchers, university classes, and grade school education programs. I acted as a skipper and dive tender for scientific divers, and oversaw the safe execution of diving operations at field sites. 2017 DIVE SUPERVISOR FOR MSC RESEARCH PROJECT (CURAÇAO) Acting as the lead diver, I supervised a Masters student and undergraduate research assistant over a 4-month field season, where we investigated how the presence of an invasive predator, the Indo-Pacific lionfish, affected the behaviour of a native coral reef fish. We captured live fish on reefs and translocated them to artificial patches to test the probability of crossing sand in the presence of native (groupers) and invasive (lionfish) predators, relative to controls (grunts). This work was based out of the Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Institute (CARMABI). Read the resulting publication here. 2016 DIVING FIELD ASSISTANCE (BARKLEY SOUND, BC) I assisted the scientific diving team at BMSC by conducting dive surveys of fishes, urchins, and sea stars. I also collected subtidal data for eight research groups, ten university courses, and assisted organizations like the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship nature program “The Nature of Things”. OTHER DIVING EXPERIENCE CEI CORAL TEAM VOLUNTEER (BAHAMAS) - Assisted on dusk surveys to collect Porites sp. coral spawn and operate boats while team leads managed coral gametes. SECORE INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER (CURAÇAO) - Assisted on night dives to collect endangered Elkhorn and Staghorn coral spawn for coral restoration research. UTILA DIVE CENTRE CORAL VOLUNTEER (HONDURAS) - Collected data through the Coral Watch program to monitor and quantify Caribbean coral health. |
RELATED ACTIVITES: LIONFISH CULLING
I always make an effort to cull invasive lionfish on the reefs I visit. In Honduras, Curaçao, and the Bahamas, I have subsistence fished lionfish for myself, and assisted others in culling lionfish for local restaurants. Photos: Left: a cooler full of adult lionfish from a one hour cull in the 600 hectare Marine Protected Area of Oostpunt, Eastern Curaçao. Middle: Hunting near a lone Elkhorn coral in Honduras. Right: A common sight on reefs in Rock Sound, Bahamas.