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My recent research interests have focused on the impacts of bottom-water hypoxia and anoxia within estuaries on the movement patterns of mobile benthic organisms, such as blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). My Masters thesis research suggested that free-ranging blue crabs in the Neuse River Estuary, NC were largely unsuccessful at moving to normoxic water after encountering hypoxia and could remain within hypoxic and anoxic water for several hours. It is important to understand why blue crabs are not more successful at avoiding hypoxia because even short exposures to hypoxia can be lethal. For my PhD dissertation, I will examine the interactive effects of blue crab physiology (e.g. acclimation to hypoxia) and hypoxic upwelling hydrodynamics (e.g. changes in abiotic factors such as DO, temperature and salinity), as well as upwelling current direction and velocity) on blue crab movement patterns. I am developing an individual-based, spatially-explicit population model which simulates individual blue crab movement responses to various types of hypoxic upwelling events and predicts crab survivorship, as well as changes in blue crab population distribution and abundance patterns. I will then test the model predictions using a field study that monitors hypoxic upwelling hydrography and tracks free-ranging blue crab movements in real-time. This mechanistic approach will help determine whether behavioral responses of individuals to environmental stimuli can be scaled up to predict patterns at the population level. If successful, the model can be a powerful tool for fisheries managers and scientists who need to predict the population-level consequences of poor water quality within estuaries.
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