Hello! I am the Collections Manager of Ichthyology and CT Scanner Technical Lead at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The fish collections here have about 170,000 lots with 3 million specimens, making it one of the largest ichthyology collections in North America. My roles here are to maintain the collections, facilitate the use of specimens in the scientific community, lead public outreach, assist volunteers, and to conduct my own research using the collections. Broadly, my research focuses on three areas of study: 1) fish systematics and evolutionary processes, 2) taxonomy and ecology of the early life history stages of marine fishes, and 3) biomechanics. Some projects I am working on at the moment include studying factors influencing the diversity and distribution of zooplankton in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf and looking at descriptive anatomy of some of the weird fish larvae and adult fishes in our museum collections. My work includes a healthy mix of ecology and anatomy. I like to study everything from broad ecological processes at basin-scale levels to looking at the little bits and bobs that make weird fish be so weird.
Previously, I spent four years as a research scientist at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. There, my research was focused on examining patterns of diversity and distribution of zooplankton in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. This work focused on the ecology of the planktonic community and, along with my colleagues, included studies on phytoplankton, zooplankton, ichthyoplankton, and numerous physical and environmental parameters. So, although I am an ichthyologist, I do plenty of work with non-fish organisms too.
Welcome to my website! I will be using this as a platform to update you all on the activities at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and my research!
Thank you for stopping by!
Todd
Previously, I spent four years as a research scientist at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. There, my research was focused on examining patterns of diversity and distribution of zooplankton in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. This work focused on the ecology of the planktonic community and, along with my colleagues, included studies on phytoplankton, zooplankton, ichthyoplankton, and numerous physical and environmental parameters. So, although I am an ichthyologist, I do plenty of work with non-fish organisms too.
Welcome to my website! I will be using this as a platform to update you all on the activities at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and my research!
Thank you for stopping by!
Todd