Introducing Dr. Hernández and Dr. Archibald!

Over the past few weeks, we have had two big reasons to celebrate: Christina (Chrissy) Hernández and Kevin Archibald successfully defended their Ph.D. theses on October 15 and November 13, respectively. Both Kevin and Chrissy have been valued members of our WHOI community and we wish them the very best in all their future pursuits.

Chrissy’s thesis is entitled “Distribution, Growth, and Transport of Larval Fishes and Implications for Population Dynamics.” She will be starting a postdoc at Cornell University, working with Steve Ellner (Cornell), Robin Snyder (Case Western Reserve), Peter Adler (Utah State) and Giles Hooker (Cornell). The project investigates life history evolution by employing databases of population data (COMADRE, COMPADRE, and PADRINO databases) to explore relationships between species traits and population outcomes.

Left: Chrissy after her successful defense with a whimsical cake made by JP student Jen Karolewski. Four white chocolate “otoliths” were hidden throughout. A person of many talents, Chrissy even knit the top she is wearing in the photo!

Above: Screen shot from Chrissy’s defense. If you look closely, you might notice a larval tuna that has already eaten another fish…it can be a rough world out there!

 

Kevin’s thesis is entitled: “The Role of Zooplankton in Regulating Carbon Export and Phytoplankton Community Structure: Integrating Models and Observations.”  He will be starting at postdoc at UC Santa Barbara working with Holly Moeller (a JP alum and former WHOI postdoc). During his postdoc, Kevin will be modeling the role of mixotrophic plankton in pelagic ecosystems and investigating potential climate feedbacks associated with changes in rates of mixotrophy within these communities.

Kevin cutting the cake after his virtual defense. “Word on the street” is that his co-advisor Mike Neubert dropped off a bottle of champagne the day before as a contribution to a socially distanced celebration.