Ph.D. Candidate
Rutgers University
Kyra is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ecology and Evolution graduate program at Rutgers University. Her research is focused on understanding how marine species are acclimating and adapting to environmental changes. She is particularly interested in using population genomics methods to inform marine conservation efforts and to understand the best conservation strategies for preserving genetic diversity. She studies connectivity and adaptation in coral reef fish in the Philippines and local adaptation and range expansion in Atlantic croaker in the U.S. Previously Kyra has studied the impacts of ocean acidification on coastal fish as a NOAA Hollings Scholar, the spatial ecology of northern elephant seals while completing a B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz, and the heat tolerance of corals as a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar. She is committed to making her research accessible to others and engages in public outreach and science education whenever possible.