As a coral reef ecologist, I choose to live in Hawaii to be close to the coral reefs I study. However, living in Hawaii means flying is the main way to get anywhere that is not my home island. Watching major bleaching events dramatically change the coral cover of reefs, feeling the warming temperatures in the water and in my house (most homes in Hawaii don’t have air conditioning), I want to do everything I can to decrease CO2 emissions – this includes flying less.
I study coral reef ecosystems. Much of my work is focused on describing spatial and temporal patterns in communities, and identifying environmental and anthropogenic drivers of these patterns.