FISHES
FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY
LOCOMOTION
Coastal Carolina University
I joined the Biology faculty at Coastal Carolina University as an Assistant Professor of Animal Biology in Fall 2023. This section will soon be updated with research starting in the lab. Looking forward to more fish, sharks, and some new directions with Drosophila!
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
In 2021-2022 I completed a postdoc with Dr. Emily Kane at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This year was followed by a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the same department teaching Physiology and Estuarine Ecology
Dissertation Research
I recently completed my PhD at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the Flammang Lab. At NJIT I studied the biomechanics of terrestrial walking in balitorid loaches (hillstream loaches) in a phylogenomic context. These fishes have pelvic morphology which converges on some tetrapodal features allowing for tetrapod-like walking. Using muscular and skeletal morphology, biomechanics (EMG, Kinematics, and force transmission), and biorobotics, this research will inform our understanding of mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of morphological innovation. My work is part of the NSF funded Rules of Life initiative, Phylogenomically-Based Bioinspired Robotic Model Approach to Address the Evolution of Terrestrial Locomotion.
PELVIC MORPHOLOGY OF BALITORID FISHES
I use microCT scanning to study the skeletal and muscualr morphology of balitorid loaches. These rheophilic hillstream loaches of South and Southeast Asia possess a range of pelvic girdle morphologies which may be attributed to adaptations for locomotion against rapidly flowing water. Specifically, the connectivity of the pelvic plate (basipterygium) to the vertebral column via a sacral rib, and the relative size and shape of the sacral rib, fall within a spectrum of three discrete morphotypes: long, narrow rib that meets the basipterygium; thicker, slightly-curved rib meeting the basipterygium; and robust crested rib interlocking with the basipterygium.
WALKING KINEMATICS OF BALITORID LOACHES
Building from the morphological characteristics of the Balitoridae morphotypes, I am studying the biomechanics of the walking behaviors exhibited by these fishes. Using high-speed video, I am analyzing the walking gait of individuals from each of the three morphotypes. I will eventually use EMG (Electromyography) to study the muscle activation allowing for these walking patterns.
MSc Research
CHONDRICHTHYAN SKELETAL MORPHOLOGY
I completed my Msc in the Naylor Lab at the College of Charleston. My thesis research was a broad survey of the skeletal anatomy of Chondrichthyans. To create this survey, which became an atlas of skeletal variation, I use computed tomography (CT) to create 3D digital models of the skeletal anatomy of over 120 individuals spanning 50 families and 109 genera. The most important aspect of this work has been the opportunity to look inside specimens of rare species while still keeping the specimen intact for future researchers. The most interesting findings have been the variation in radiopacity of different structures and sometimes entire specimens, these differences could potentially be attributable to age of the specimen, habitat, behavior, timing between specimen death and preservation, preservation techniques, or a number of other factors.
Material Testing
Hagfish Skin Material Testing
In 2012 I participated in the Friday Harbor Laboratories Functional Morphology and Ecology of Marine Fishes summer course. Over the summer I conducted tests on the strength and stiffness of hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) and penpoint gunnel (Apodichthys flavidus) skin. This work compared the material properties of the skin from fish with loose-fitting skin (hagfish) and taut skin (gunnels), concluding that the the patterns by which hagfish skin differentially responds to longitudinally and circumferentially directed loads contrasts with values for tight-fitting fish skins. Hagfish skin is stiffer along the animal’s longitudinal axis than its circumferential axis whereas taut-skinned fish have stiffer skin along the circumferential axis compared to teh longitudinal axis.
