member of Sigma Xi 2018 - 2023 American Insitute for Biology Sciences 2015 - 2023 American Shore and Beach Preservation Association 2019 American Fisheries Society 2017 - 2018 Divers Alert Network 2012 - 2018 Southeastern Estuarine Research Society 2017 Society for Conservation Biology 2016 Ecological Society of America 2013 Coastal Estuarine Research Federation 2012 American Academy of Underwater Sciences 2012 Phi Beta Kappa 2005
selected publications article Recommendations for built marine infrastructure that supports natural habitats. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. n/a. 2025 Evaluating Habitat Provisioning and Restoration Potential of a Subtropical Seagrass Species in a Temperate Estuary. Estuaries and Coasts. 48. 2025 Leveraging built marine structures to benefit and minimize impacts on natural habitats. BioScience. 2025 A 20-year systematic review of wave dissipation by soft and hybrid nature-based solutions (NbS). Ecological Engineering. 209. 2024 Assessing how restoration can facilitate 30x30 goals for climate-resilient coastal ecosystems in the United States. Conservation Biology. n/a. 2024 Co-Funding Robust Monitoring with Living Shoreline Construction is Critical for Maximizing Beneficial Outcomes. Estuaries and Coasts. 48. 2024 Evidence on the performance of nature-based solutions interventions for coastal protection in biogenic, shallow ecosystems: a systematic map. Environmental Evidence. 13. 2024 Harnessing ecological theory to enhance ecosystem restoration. Current Biology. 34. 2024 Living shorelines equal or outperform natural shorelines as fish habitat over time: updated results from a long-term BACI study at multiple sites. Estuaries and Coasts. 47. 2024 Parasites as indicators of biodiversity and habitat complexity in coastal ecosystems. Ecosphere. 15. 2024 Perceived effectiveness drives shoreline decision-making for Florida's waterfront property owners. Ocean & Coastal Management. 258. 2024 Quantifying the impacts of future shoreline modification on biodiversity in a case study of coastal Georgia, United States. Conservation Biology. n/a. 2024 Parasites indicate trophic complexity and faunal succession in restored oyster reefs over a 22-year period. Ecological Applications. n/a. 2023 Reef design and site hydrodynamics mediate oyster restoration and marsh stabilization outcomes. Ecological Applications. n/a. 2022 Remarkable euryhalinity of a marine fish Lutjanus novemfasciatus in mangrove nurseries. Ecology. n/a. 2022 Shifting Baselines May Undermine Shoreline Management Efforts in the United States. Frontiers in Climate. 4. 2022 Tropical cyclone impacts on seagrass-associated fishes in a temperate-subtropical estuary. PLOS ONE. 17. 2022 Bivalve facilitation mediates seagrass recovery from physical disturbance in a temperate estuary. Ecosphere. 12. 2021 Challenges and opportunities for sustaining coastal wetlands and oyster reefs in the southeastern United States. Journal of Environmental Management. 296. 2021 Coastal resilience surges as living shorelines reduce lateral erosion of salt marshes. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. n/a. 2021 Inclusion of Intra- and Interspecific Facilitation Expands the Theoretical Framework for Seagrass Restoration. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8. 2021 Infrastructure investment must incorporate Nature's lessons in a rapidly changing world. One Earth. 4. 2021 Reversing a tyranny of cascading shoreline-protection decisions driving coastal habitat loss. Conservation Science and Practice. 3. 2021 Coming to Terms With Living Shorelines: A Scoping Review of Novel Restoration Strategies for Shoreline Protection. Frontiers in Marine Science. 7. 2020 If you build it, they will come: Restoration positively influences free-living and parasite diversity in a restored tidal marsh. Food Webs. 25. 2020 Social Factors Key to Landscape-Scale Coastal Restoration: Lessons Learned from Three U.S. Case Studies. Sustainability. 12. 2020 Interspecific and intraspecific interactions between fiddler crabs Minuca pugnax (mud fiddler) and Leptuca pugilator (sand fiddler) influence species' burrowing behavior. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 517. 2019 Salt marsh shoreline geomorphology influences the success of restored oyster reefs and use by associated fauna. Restoration Ecology. 27. 2019 Voluntary Restoration: Mitigation's Silent Partner in the Quest to Reverse Coastal Wetland Loss in the USA. Frontiers in Marine Science. 6. 2019 Habitat Associations of Juvenile Cod in Nearshore Waters. Reviews in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 26. 2018 Investing in Natural and Nature-Based Infrastructure: Building Better Along Our Coasts. Sustainability. 10. 2018 Living shorelines enhanced the resilience of saltmarshes to Hurricane Matthew (2016). Ecological Applications. 28. 2018 Movement ecology of a mobile predatory fish reveals limited habitat linkages within a temperate estuarine seascape. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.. 75. 2018 Temperature Influences Herbivory and Algal Biomass in the Gal�pagos Islands. Frontiers in Marine Science. 5. 2018 Hurricane damage along natural and hardened estuarine shorelines: Using homeowner experiences to promote nature-based coastal protection. Marine Policy. 81:350-358. 2017 Life stage and species identity affect whether habitat subsidies enhance or simply redistribute consumer biomass. Journal of Animal Ecology. 86. 2017 Living on the Edge: Increasing Patch Size Enhances the Resilience and Community Development of a Restored Salt Marsh. Estuaries and Coasts. 2017 Oyster reefs as carbon sources and sinks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 284. 2017 The cost of coastal protection: A comparison of shore stabilization approaches. Shore and Beach. 85:19-24. 2017 Ecological consequences of shoreline hardening: A meta-analysis. BioScience. 66. 2016 Living shorelines can enhance the nursery role of threatened estuarine habitats. Ecological Applications. 26:249-263. 2016 Engineering away our natural defenses: An analysis of shoreline hardening in the US. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 13:301-307. 2015 Classic paradigms in a novel environment: Inserting food web and productivity lessons from rocky shores and saltmarshes into biogenic reef restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology. 51. 2014 Marshes with and without sills protect estuarine shorelines from erosion better than bulkheads during a Category 1 hurricane. Ocean and Coastal Management. 102:94-102. 2014 Oyster reefs can outpace sea-level rise. Nature Climate Change. 4:493-497. 2014 Fiddler crabs facilitate Spartina alterniflora growth, mitigating periwinkle overgrazing of marsh habitat. Ecology. 94. 2013 proceedings Wave Attenuation Performance of Emergent Reef-Type Breakwaters and Oyster Shell Bags 2023
presentations presentation Incorporating ecological principles and community needs into coastal restoration and engineering approaches, Department of Environment, Ecology, and Energy, UNC Chapel Hill 2025 Assessing coastal protection benefits and tradeoffs of engineered oyster reefs using UAS-SFM. , North Carolina Sea Grant federal site review 2025 Resilient Communities and Economies: Nature-based options for coastal resilience, North Carolina Sea Grant federal site review 2025 Utilizing UAS-SfM to assess the erosion control properties of a novel breakwater substrate., American Geophysical Union annual meeting 2024 Perceptions of salt marsh in the residential landscape., North Carolina Coastal Conference 2024 Biodiversity and habitat complexity as indicators of community assembly following oyster reef restoration. , North Carolina Coastal Conference 2024 A quarter century of living shoreline research on the North Carolina coast and future directions., Restore America's Estuaries 2024 Perceptions of salt marsh in the residential landscape. , Restore America's Estuaries 2024 Nature-based solutions, NC EcoTech Coastal Resilience Visioning Session, University of North Carolina Wilmington 2024 Wave attenuation performance of constructed oyster breakwaters across varying levels of oyster colonization, Coastal and Estuarine Summit hosted by American Shore and Beach Preservation Society 2024 Wave transformation across natural and restored oyster reefs., NC Coastal Reserve Research Symposium 2024 Incorporating ecological principles into coastal restoration and engineering approaches, University of Chicago 2024 Geesin, M.E., Sirianni, H., Gittman, R.K. 2024. Evaluating the influence of biodegradable oyster breakwaters on local ecosystems and geomorphology. (poster)., NC Coastal Reserve Research Symposium 2024 Evaluating the influence of oyster breakwaters on local ecosystems and geomorphology., Benthic Ecology Meeting 2024 Evaluating plant-microbe associations in response to environmental stressors to enhance wetland restoration, East Carolina University Research and Creative Achievement Week 2024 Predicting outcomes of bivalve-seagrass interactions in shallow estuaries., Benthic Ecology Meeting 2024 Biodiversity and habitat complexity as indicators of community assembly following oyster reef restoration., Benthic Ecology Meeting 2024 Assessing the habitat value of novel breakwater substrates for estuarine fauna., Coastal Estuarine Research Federation 2023 Evaluating the influence of sediment microbial community composition and salinity on smooth cordgrass (Sporabolus alterniflorus), Coastal Estuarine Research Federation 2023 Predicting outcomes of bivalve-seagrass interactions across an exposure gradient., Coastal Estuarine Research Federation 2023 Evaluating plant-microbe associations in response to environmental stressors to enhance wetland restoration, Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting 2023 Coastal Stressor Effects on Sediment and Salt Marsh Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) Root-Associated Microbiomes, East Carolina University Research and Creative Achievement Week 2023 Surface area and depth drive pinfish habitat choice in North Carolina seagrass meadows., Benthic Ecology Meeting 2023 Evaluating the coastal protection and ecological co-benefits of novel marsh-oyster restoration approaches, University of South Alabama Seminar Series 2023 Nitrogen and Phosphorus Remediation in Mesocosm Floating Treatment Wetlands receiving Municipal and Aquacultural Wastewater, North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute Conference 2023 Evaluating socio-ecological functions provided by novel, nature-based coastal protection approaches, Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) 2022 Evaluating the Impacts of Hazard Adaptation Decision-making on Coastal Communities and Ecosystems, Restore America's Estuaries Summit 2022 Evaluating the coastal protection and ecological co-benefits of novel marsh-oyster restoration approaches, USCRP Webinar 2022 Nature-based solutions for coasts in a changing climate, Vulnerable Coastlines in an Era of Climate Emergencies 2022 Assessing faunal community composition in newly restored seagrass beds across an elevation gradient, Benthic Ecology Meeting 2022 Borrowing ecological principles: Influence of Substrate Orientation on Free-Living and Parasite Diversity, Tidewater AFS 2022 Gradients in Success: the impact of wave energy and predation on oyster restoration success, Benthic Ecology Meeting 2022 Assessing faunal community composition in newly restored seagrass beds across an elevation gradient, CERF 2021 Borrowing ecological principles: Influence of Substrate Orientation on Free-Living and Parasite Diversity, CERF 2021 How Can Nature-Based Approaches Be Used to Restore Resilience along Developed Coastlines?, CERF 2021 Quantifying ecological function & resilience of coastal protection approaches, NC ACE 2021 Attenuation of boat-wake energy and habitat creation using novel living shoreline approach., AERS-SEERS Joint Virtual Meeting 2020 Borrowing ecological principles:Effect of substrate orientation and complexity on reef formation., AERS-SEERS Joint Virtual Meeting 2020 Comparing abilities of alternative substrates to halt salt marsh erosion and support oyster reef development., Restore America's Estuaries Coastal and Estuarine Virtual Summit 2020 Evaluating how foundation species diversity affects the community composition of seagrass meadows., Restore America's Estuaries National Coastal & Estuarine Summit 2020 Living shorelines: An adaptive management approach to promote climate-resilience?, Restore America's Estuaries Coastal and Estuarine Virtual Summit 2020 Assessing the resilience of coastal protection to multiple storm events in North Carolina, AERS-SEERS Joint Virtual Meeting 2020 Resilience of Shoreline Protection Methods to Hurricane Florence, NSF Coasts and People Hurricon 2020 Bypassing pre-and post-settlement bottlenecks of foundation species across estuarine environmental gradients via mobile substrates, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference 2019 Comparing abilities of alternative substrates to halt salt marsh erosion and support oyster reef development, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference 2019 Evaluating how foundation species diversity affects the community composition of seagrass meadows, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference 2019 Voluntary restoration: mitigation's partner in the quest to outpace coastal wetland loss in the USA, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference 2019 Evaluating shoreline resilience to major storm events, Restore America's Estuaries Living Shoreline Technology Transfer Workshop 2019 Enhancing resilience through coastal restoration, Coastal Science Symposium 2018 North Carolina estuaries, Edges of Our Estuaries Workshop 2018 Incorporating EFH into Fisheries Management: A Case Study of Atlantic Cod in the Gulf of Maine, American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting 2018 Living shorelines, Coastal Resiliency of Living Shorelines, Congressional Briefing 2018 Are we engineering away our natural defenses along North Carolina's coast?, Invited, Geography Colloquium 2018 Preference for hardened shorelines outweighs environmental values and impedes conservation and restoration of coastal habitats., Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference 2017 Living shorelines: Are we designing functional, sustainable, and resilient coasts?", Invited Seminar, University of Virginia 2017
principal investigator on Co-developing a community and data-driven framework for coastal protection decision making awarded by North Carolina State University (NCSU) 2023 - 2026 Evaluating impacts of living shorelines on estuarine habitat functions awarded by North Carolina Coastal Federation 2024 - 2026 Evaluating impacts of living shorelines on estuarine habitat functions: Cedar Island project awarded by North Carolina Coastal Federation 2025 - 2026 Do living shorelines maintain connectivity and habitat function in intertidal landscapes? awarded by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNCCH) 2024 - 2026 Evaluating the influence of sediment microbial community composition and salinity on smooth cordgrass (Sporabolus alterniflorus) seedling survival and growth awarded by North Carolina State University (NCSU) 2024 - 2026 Evaluating the coastal protection and ecological co-benefits of novel marsh-oyster restoration approaches awarded by DOD - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 2021 - 2025 Evaluating ecosystem benefits and tradeoffs of living shoreline materials awarded by North Carolina State University (NCSU) 2022 - 2024 Oyster Reef Sweet Spots: Evaluating oyster reef restoration locations and configurations for optimizing ecological success and coastal defense performance awarded by North Carolina Policy Collaboratory 2022 - 2023 Assessing Faunal Community Composition in Newly Restored Seagrass Beds Across a Depth Gradient awarded by North Carolina State University (NCSU) 2021 - 2022 Testing novel substrates and approaches to improve oyster and salt marsh restoration success awarded by North Carolina State University (NCSU) 2020 - 2022 Evaluating the current productivity and suitability of North Carolina's designated estuarine nursery areas awarded by NCDENR Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) 2020 - 2021 Oyster reef restoration in Back Sound, Rachel Carson Reserve, Beaufort, North Carolina, NFHP awarded by National Fish Habitat Partnership 2018 - 2021 Phase 2: Oyster reef restoration in Back Sound, Rachel Carson Reserve, Beaufort, North Carolina awarded by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNCCH) 2019 - 2020 Evaluation of the Resilience of Living Shorelines and Coastal Residents to Hurricane Dorian awarded by Consolidated Safety Services, Inc. (CSS) 2019 - 2020 RAPID Evaluation of the Resilience of Shoreline Protection Methods to Hurricane Florence awarded by University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) 2019 - 2020 Quantifying the geomorphic, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts of shoreline management strategies: a multi-disciplinary approach awarded by University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) 2019 - 2020 Enhancing seagrass bed restoration via inter- and intraspecific facilitation awarded by Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) 2018 - 2020 Comparing the effectiveness of alternative substrates (Oyster catcher vs. Oyster shell bags) at promoting oyster reef development and preventing saltmarsh erosion (matching funds) awarded by North Carolina Policy Collaboratory 2018 - 2019 Oyster reef restoration in Back Sound, Rachel Carson Reserve, Beaufort, North Carolina awarded by Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) 2018 - 2019 Evaluating the ability of bivalve facilitation to enhance seagrass bed restoration awarded by North Carolina Sea Grant 2018 - 2019 Developing design criteria and novel monitoring approaches for oyster restoration to improve water quality and enhance estuarine habitat value awarded by ECU Natural Resources and the Environment Research Cluster 2018 - 2019 Comparing the effectiveness of alternative substrates (Oyster catcher vs. Oyster shell bags) at promoting oyster reef development and preventing saltmarsh erosion awarded by North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve (NCNERR) 2017 - 2018 Review of the ecological effects of shoreline hardening awarded by The Pew Charitable Trusts 2015
co-principal investigator on A study of the marine fisheries and coastal habitats regulated by North Carolina awarded by North Carolina Collaborory 2021 Aligning coastal restoration with ecological and societal needs awarded by Science for Nature and People Partnership 2015 - 2018
investigator on CoPe Conference: HurRaCon: Science at the Intersection of Hurricanes and the Populated Coast awarded by NSF - National Science Foundation 2019 - 2021
professional service activities Special Issue Guest Editor, Estuaries and Coasts Invited, Living Shoreline Special Issue:https://link.springer.com/collections/ehhbdejhfi 2022 - 2024 Special Issue Guest Editor, Frontiers in Climate Invited, Climate, Ecology, and People Special Issue 2022 - 2024 Frontiers in Ecology and Environment 1 manuscript review 2024 GULF RESTORE Council 1 proposal review 2024 NOAA Technical Review 1 manuscript review for NOAA prior to submission to a journal 2024 Nature - Scientific Reports 1 manuscript review 2024 Leadership Team, North Carolina Salt Marsh Steering Committee Invited 2023 Nature Communications 1 manuscript review 2023 Pew Charitable Trusts Living Shorelines Expert Consultant Invited to particpate in workshops, meetings, and provide technical reviews 2015 - 2023 Graduate Women in Science Reviewed proposal for Graduate Women in Science program 2023 North Carolina Nutrient Criteria Development Plan Scientific Advisory Council Appointed by NC DEQ. 2019 - 2023 Associate Editor, Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability Invited:https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ocean-sustainability/editors 2022 GULF RESTORE Reviewed proposal for GULF RESTORE program 2022 Washington Sea Grant Reviewed proposal for Washington Sea Grant program 2022 Associate Editor, Estuaries and Coasts Served as Associate Editor for 13 manuscripts in 2024. 2022 The Nature Conservancy Consulting for a manuscript 2021 - 2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 1 manuscript review 2022 Technical Advisory Committee, Reef Design Innovations for Living Shorelines, San Francisco State University 2020 - 2022 NSF Two-day proposal panel for NSF 2021 Journal of Applied Ecology 1 manuscript review 2021 Ocean and Coastal Management 1 manuscript review 2021 South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative Workshop March 2022 2021 Member at Large Southeastern Estuarine Research Society 2019 - 2021 NCHRP IDEA Expert Panel for University of Miami SEAHIVE Project 2018 - 2021 Coastal Management 1 manuscript review 2021 Ecosystem Services 1 manuscript review 2021 MA/WHOI Sea Grant One-day proposal panel for MA/WHOI Sea Grant 2021 PeerJ 1 manuscript review 2021 Stone Living Lab Proposal Reviews Reviewed 2 proposals for the Stone Living Lab 2021 Ecology Letters 1 manuscript review 2020 Ecosphere 1 manuscript review 2020 CA COAST SSINP Review Panel Two-day proposal review panel for the CA COAST SSINP program 2020 North Carolina Coastal Habitat Protection Plan Wetland Technical Working Group 2020 CA COAST SSINP 2 proposal reviews 2020 Journal of Ecology 1 manuscript review 2020 Marine Ecology Progress Series 1 manuscript review 2020 Oecologia 1 manuscript review 2020 Vida 1 proposal review 2020 WIREs Climate Change 1 manuscript review 2020 AGU Books Reviewed book chapter 2019 Ecology 1 manuscript review 2019 Journal of Environmental Management 1 manuscript review 2019 Nature Sustainability 1 manuscript review 2019 Conference Co-Organizer NSF CoPe ECU Hurricon 2019 Restore America's Estuaries Living Shoreline Community of Practice 2016 - 2019 CERF Syposium Organizer Identifying Restoration Priorities and Evaluating Socio-Ecological Benefits at Multiple Scales 2019 RAE Living Shoreline Technology Transfer Workshop Planning Committee 2018 - 2019 Conservation Letters 1 manuscript review 2018 Washington Sea Grant Proposal reviewed 1 proposal 2018 National Fish and Wildlife Federation Mid-Atlantic Living Shorelines Panel 2016 - 2018 North Carolina Division of Coastal Management Living Shoreline Permit Review 2015 - 2018 APNEP's Soundings Blog "Living Storm Protections: Part I, How Did Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael Impact Living Shorelines?" 2018 Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program Living Shoreline Steering Committee 2018 Edges of Our Estuaries: Challenges and Opportunities for Managing Dynamic Shorelines 2018 Environmental Science and Policy 1 manuscript review 2018 Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science Reviewed 1 manuscript 2018 Limnology & Oceanography 1 manuscript review 2018 Estuaries and Coasts Completed 2 manuscript reviews. 2017 - 2018 North Carolina Department of Transportation Nature-Based Solutions Peer Exchange 2017 - 2018 Climate Central Article, "As Seas Rise, Americans Use Nature to Fight Worsening Erosion", John Upton, Climate Central 2017 Coastal Review Online Article, "Living shoreline experiment conducted on Carrot Island", North Carolina Coastal Federation 2017 Environment, Coastal and Offshore Magazine Editorial Focus: Living Shorelines, Interview 2017 TV Segment, PBS News Hour and Climate Central TV Segment, "Living shorelines' use oyster shells and marsh grass to reverse coastal erosion", PBS News Hour and Climate Central 2017 Hudson River Foundation Reviewed 2 proposals 2016 - 2017 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Reviewed 1 proposal 2016 - 2017 PLoS ONE Reviewed 2 manuscripts 2016 - 2017 Coastal Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference Judge of student presentations and posters. 2017 Connecticut SeaGrant Reviewed 1 proposal 2017 Diversity and Distributions Reviewed 1 manuscript 2017 Ecological Engineering Reviewed 1 manuscript 2017 Maryland Sea Grant Reviewed 1 proposal 2017 Ecosystems Reviewed 2 manuscripts 2016 NBC MACH Interview, "Walls won't save our cities from rising seas, here's what will" 2016 Gulf Research Program Capacity Building Grants Review Panel 2016
education and training B.S. in Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia Ph.D. in Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
credentials Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional AAUS Scientific Diver
awards and honors ECU 5 Year Research and Creative Activity Award, conferred by ECU THCAS Dean's Office, 2024 THCAS Dean's Early Career Award, conferred by ECU THCAS Dean's Office, 2023 ECU Scholarship of Engagement Award, conferred by ECU, 2022 Estuaries and Coasts Reviewer of Distinction, conferred by Coastal Estuarine Research Federation, 2017 BioScience Editor's Choice Article, conferred by American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2016 Invited Early Career Scientist, Next-in-Science Program, conferred by Harvard University, 2015 Disseration Completion Fellowship, conferred by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2014 UNC Graduate Impact Award, conferred by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013