My research focuses on various ecological processes governing marine ecosystem structuring. Many of these processes touch on areas of symbiosis, food webs and trophodynamics, and conservation biology. I use exploratory observations combined with careful, manipulative experiments to discover the patterns and uncover the mechanisms guiding community dynamics. Specifically, I try to understand what processes are responsible for regulating the structure of marine communities, with focus on three main themes:

1. How are marine community structure and trophodynamics influenced by corallivory and other predator-prey interactions?

2. What influence does microbial ecology have on the success of key ecosystem engineers?

3. How widespread are dual symbioses in marine ecosystems, and what role do they play in structuring ecosystems and communities?