Current Appointments & Affiliations
Ida Stephens Owens Distinguished Professor
·
2024 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Biology
·
2012 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Division of Marine Science and Conservation
·
2022 - Present
Marine Science and Conservation,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2008 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
·
2017 - Present
Duke Science & Society,
University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Recent Publications
Multispecies sensory networks and social foraging strategies: Implications for population decline in procellariiform seabirds.
Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · October 2025 Multispecies sensory networks, where different species prioritize different sensory modalities and then use heterospecific information in a likely noncooperative fashion, may allow animals to improve foraging over large areas for cryptic prey. We test this ... Full text CiteStrategies and significance of self-assessing dynamic visual appearance.
Journal Article Trends in ecology & evolution · September 2025 Dynamic visual appearance, from the capacity of organisms to rapidly alter color or pattern of the body, is typically achieved through physiological color-change and/or bioluminescence. Since these processes often tune appearance to changing ecological con ... Full text CiteEmerging frontiers in visual ecology.
Journal Article The Journal of experimental biology · August 2025 Visual ecology, the study of how animals acquire and respond to visual information in nature, has grown rapidly over the past few decades. Research in this field has transformed our understanding of fundamental processes, such as the neurobiological basis ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Decoding invisibility: from genome evolution to tissue optical properties in transparent fish
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by International Human Frontier Science Program Organization · 2024 - 2027Optimal summation for maximum identification range of targets and the biophotonics of targets with ultralow reflectance
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Air Force Research Laboratory · 2025 - 2027Magnetoreception in Marine Animals and Bio-Inspired Algorithms for Long-range, GPS-free Navigation
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2020 - 2026View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ·
1996
Ph.D.
Swarthmore College ·
1988
B.A.