Research Interests

MS Biology ongoing thesis projects at California State University, Northridge (Advisor: Dr. Nyssa J. Silbiger)

Barnas, D.M., Zeff, M., Silbiger, N.J. (In Progress)*. Natural environmental gradients alter community composition and functional diversity on coral reefs.

GitHub Repository can be found HERE

Barnas, D.M., Zeff, M., Silbiger, N.J. (In Progress)*. Functional diversity of coral reef communities drives changes in ecosystem functioning.

GitHub Repository can be found HERE

Additonal projects (Assisted as a research technician at CSUN)

Fields, J.B. and Silbiger, N.J. 2022. Foundation species loss alters multiple ecosystem functions within temperate tidepool communities. Marine Science Progress Series 683.

Kerlin, J.R., Barnas, D.M., Silbiger, N.J. In Progress (anticiipated 2023). Effects of submarine groundwater discharge and coral-coral interactions on common coral species, Porites rus*.

Chiachi, A., Barnas, D.M., Silbiger, N.J. In Progress (anticiipated 2023). Determining the effects of marine heatwaves on red abalone, Haliotis rufescens*, across multiple size classes.

Other reserach interests

Coral reef conservation and restoration
Temporal changes of marine ecosystems due to disturbance events or climage change
Functional traits as key drivers of BEF relationships
Climate change impacts to organismal and community physiology
Impacts of natural processes (i.e. submarine groundwater discharge) on organismal and community physiology