The Arabian Sea: A Natural Experiment in Phytoplankton Biogeography

My long-term goal is to contribute to our understanding of the way different marine ecosystems function, and to the role of natural selection and micro-evolutionary processes in ecosystem resistance and resilience. In particular, I am interested in the interaction between physical, chemical, and bio-optical properties of the water column and the distribution, productivity, and genetic diversity of different phytoplankton taxa. An underlying premise of my research is that the taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community has a large effect on the dynamics of the ecosystem, and that a taxon-based approach which considers physiological and genetic factors unique to each taxa is needed to understand and predict changes in ecosystem structure and function.