I am an ecologist and nature enthusiast from the east coast of Canada, originally from the island portion of the province of Newfoundland & Labrador. I studied biology at Memorial University where I received my Master of Environmental Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. While living in Halifax, Nova Scotia I worked as an environmental consultant for several years and developed my expertise and interest in the study of aquatic habitats—in particular benthic invertebrate studies of freshwater environments—for regulatory environmental assessments, environmental effects monitoring, and site assessments.
In July of 2020 I joined the MFRC to begin my PhD in freshwater ecology. The focus of my research is to develop the use of hydromorphological assessment methods in biomonitoring programmes of Irish rivers. Looking at macroinvertebrates, fish, and macrophytes my project team and I aim to develop a set of biomonitoring tools capable of measuring the impacts of flow and changes in flow on these three groups of aquatic organisms, and to provide recommendations for their application in ecological status assessments of Irish rivers.
