Aquaculture Research
My current research still looks at kelp reproduction and communities, but through the lens of aquaculture. Additionally, my portfolio is growing to include shellfish research. From understanding spatial and temporal variation in fertility to habitat provisioning, I am working with a number of industry, agency, and academic collaborators to answer questions at the forefront of Alaska’s growing mariculture industry.
CURRENT WORK
Prince William Sound Science Center Commercial Kelp Hatchery
August 2025 - present
Good kelp farm production relies on the availability of good kelp seed. One of the primary barriers to seed access in Alaska is the lack of local hatchery infrastructure, so in 2023, PWSSC attempted to remedy that issue for local kelp farmers by starting their own commercial kelp hatchery. In August 2025, I took on the role of hatchery manager for the PWSSC commercial hatchery, and successfully grew over 50,000ft of kelp seedline for the 3 commercial farms in the Cordova region. While the hatchery primarily focuses on sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) seed production, we are also growing several other species, including ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata), bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), and giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera).
EVOST Mariculture Recon Project
April 2025 - present
The Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium (Mariculture ReCon) is a multi-year study focused on supporting restoration, habitat enhancement, and economic development through research and partnerships among scientists and seaweed and shellfish farmers. A suite of applied research and restoration components takes a farm-centered approach to address restoration and habitat enhancement interests in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill area that overlap with top priority needs identified by stakeholders and in the Alaska Mariculture Development Plan developed by the Governor’s Mariculture Task Force. As a postdoc on this project, I am primarily responsible for synthesizing and analyzing data across project components in order to develop a more comprehensive understand of kelp and oyster farm interactions with the environment.
Genetic diversity and seed quality of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) cultivated from gametophytes and conventional methods
July 2025 - present
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) hatchery permitting process provides guidance for sours collection referred to as the 50-50 rule: sorus tissue collected for mariculture operations must be sourced from 50 individuals within 50 km from the intended outplanting site in order to minimize disease transmission, protect the genetic fitness of wild kelp, and maintain the genetic diversity of cultured stocks. While there is moderate support for the 50-50 rule, it is unclear if conventional methods generate kelp cultures that represent the genetic diversity of the source broodstock. In this project, I am collaborating with Dr. Filipe Alberto (Univerisity of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) to quantify the amount of genetic recombination that occurs under three different seeding methods: 1) traditional seeding with spore solution, 2) seeding with a mixed-parent gametophyte solution, and 3) seeding with separate gametophyte solutions from individual parents. In addition, spools seeded from each method will be assessed for seed quality to evaluate the advantages of each hatchery method and potential for implementation in the kelp industry. The results of this project will clarify 1) whether alternative seeding methods better preserve the genetic diversity of Alaskan kelps and 2) whether alternative seeding methods have the potential to increase the quality of cultured seaweeds.
Hatchery to Harvest (H2H)
August 2024 - present
While the abiotic limits of bull kelp growth at the microscopic stage are somewhat understood, there is still much to understand about how different hatchery conditions may affect the final growth and yield of seaweed farms at harvest. This experiment aimed to assess how varying light and temperature levels affect bull kelp growth both in the hatchery and on the farm. Seed string was cultured under three different temperatures (5°C, 8°C, 11°C) and 4 different light levels (constant 30 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, constant 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, increasing from 30 to 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, increasing from 20 to 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1) for two months at the NOAA Kodiak Lab and UAF Point Lena Laboratory. We outplanted the cultured seedstring on two farms in Kodiak and Juneau to determine how exposure to different abiotic conditions in the hatchery stage affect the adult stage of kelp and harvest outputs. Preliminary hatchery stage results indicate that higher light (60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1) and temperature (11°C) conditions increase growth rates of bull kelp. On the farm, however, we witnessed a potentially beneficial effect of culturing bull kelp at low temperatures (5°C). We are currently repeating this experiment for a second year.
PREVIOUS WORK
Bull Kelp Spore Dynamics
January 2024 - July 2025
Paper in prep
Currently, the farming calendars being used for bull kelp cultivation are based on what has traditionally worked for other kelp species such as sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) (Steckoll et al. 2021) and ribbon kelp (Alaria marginata). However, no studies so far have sought to understand the seasonal dynamics of bull kelp reproduction and how that might affect the kelp farming cycle in different locations within Alaska. In this study, I am collaborating with Dr. Veronica Farrugia Drakard (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Jordan Hollarsmith (NOAA AFSC), to answer the following questions about spore dynamics and seasonality: 1) how does the seasonality of bull kelp sori production and spore release vary between Juneau and Kodiak, two of the largest areas in Alaska for kelp mariculture, and 2) how does the amount of time since sori begin spore release affect the number/density of spores released and the ratio of motile to non-motile spores?
Operation OINK: Oysters in Kodiak
October 2023 - April 2025
The Board of Fish recently passed a regulation that allows for oysters to be held in federal facilities for research purposes, and as a result, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center aquaculture team has been taking steps to help conduct research and fill gaps in the oyster industry. Since December, the Kodiak lab has been hosting nearly 500 juvenile oysters to begin to understand 1) what is needed for oyster growth and cultivation and 2) how to design a system that will allow us to maintain oysters for research purposes.
Kelp Farm Habitat Provisioning
January 2024 - April 2025
Most assessments of the effects of kelp farms on habitat provisioning and native species has been done in tropical areas, but more research is needed to assess the impacts of kelp farms in temperate areas. This project seeks to assess how kelp farms influence local fish communities and habitat utilization, particularly by important economic species such as juvenile salmon and cod. We are using a combination of GoPro video surveys, eDNA sampling, and SMURFS to assess how juvenile fish in the upper water column are utilizing kelp farm versus kelp forest habitat.