Welcome!

Welcome to my website!  This site will serve multiple purposes.  I will post updates regarding my research, share interesting photos and stories about my travels, and provide online galleries of the flora and fauna known from the places I have visited and worked.  I hope that you enjoy the wonder and beauty captured in my photography!

The photo at the top of this page shows a sunset as seen from a biological field station at Volcan Cacao in northwestern Costa Rica.  In 2010, we spent three days at this remote field site collecting arachnids.  It was probably one of the most remote sites we visited, as the drive required a 4WD truck and took about 3 hours of slow, careful, strategic driving along a dirt road that was mainly used by farmers.  After parking the truck in a field we still had to carry all the equipment and food to the station about 0.5 km up the hill – and this required two trips.  Despite all of this, it was one of the greatest places I have had the opportunity to work.  And the picture of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean was only one of the many spectacular things about this place!

A small stream surround by lush green vegetation at Las Brisas Nature Reserve, Costa Rica.

Another one of the great places I’ve worked is at Las Brisas Nature Reserve near Volcan Turrialba in northeastern Costa Rica – where I took this picture of a small stream surrounded by lush green vegetation!  I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to collect arachnids at this incredibly diverse site which just reaches elevations transitioning into montane cloud forest (~825 m).  I am currently cataloging the species of harvestmen found at this site, however, it is a slow process as we try to identify previously described species in the literature and in museum collections while also preparing descriptions of new species!  There will be plenty more for me to share with you regarding these topics in future posts.