In August 2023, I started my current position as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), which is affiliated with the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). I am working with the Gulf Ecosystem Initiative (www.nceas.ucsb.edu/gulfeco), which is a partnership with NOAA to conduct synthesis science related to pressing questions in the Gulf of Mexico.
Part of the Gulf Ecosystem Initiative is to fund working groups. Of the two working groups funded in 2023, I am currently part of the group investigating Offshore Wind Development Impacts on Fish and Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, which is led by Dr. Holden Harris.
From August 2021 - July 2023, I was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Alabama Center of Excellence (ALCoE) at Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) located in southern Alabama. I worked with Dr. Ken Heck and Dr. John Valentine to monitor seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. We also collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution's Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) Network.
PhD Research
For my PhD I was advised by Dr. Peggy Fong at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. My dissertation research addressed top-down and bottom-up factors that influence the resilience of coral reefs. Specifically, I assessed how the functional diversity of herbivorous fishes is key to supporting coral reef resilience and how nutrient enrichment can degrade resilience by changing the growth of and interactions between functional forms of algae. I conducted my dissertation research on coral reefs around the island Moorea in French Polynesia.
Master's Research
I was a graduate student in the lab of Dr. Gary Belovsky at the University of Notre Dame in the Department of Biological Sciences from August 2011 - August 2014.
For my master's thesis, I studied brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) from the Great Salt Lake and assessed whether commercial harvesting impacted the brine shrimp population. I found that commercial harvesting of the brine shrimp cysts acts a selective pressure and caused evolutionary changes over time. Specifically, buoyancy of the brine shrimp cysts decreased and mortality of the nauplii life stage increased over time.
Undergraduate Research Experiences
I obtained my undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science) in Environmental Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. During my undergraduate tenure (2007 - 2011), I participated in a variety of undergraduate research experiences listed below.
Undergraduate research with Dr. Gary Belovsky, University of Notre Dame, August 2009 - May 2011
Another undergraduate student and I studied how varying environmental conditions (water temperature, salinity, food concentration, food type) affect the foraging rate of different brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) life stages from the Great Salt Lake, UT.
Sura SA, Herlihy NS, Mahon HK, Belovsky GE (2017) Environmental impacts on grazing of different brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) life stages. Hydrobiologia 792:97–104 doi: 10.1007/s10750-016-3047-5
Undergraduate research with Dr. Gary Lamberti, University of Notre Dame, August 2009 - May 2011
Under the guidance of a graduate student, I examined the role of introduced Pacific salmon in transporting contaminants into Great Lakes tributaries.
Specifically, I evaluated uptake of contaminants by resident fish and the isotopic signatures of invertebrates and biofilms in salmonid and non-salmonid waters. I examined stomach contents and PCB and isotopic enrichment of tissue from resident fish.
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Summer Intern Program, University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, June - August 2010
I examined beach and water quality characteristics of horseshoe crab spawning sites in the Delaware Inland Bays.
I also participated in a 24 hour cruise on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp research vessel, which involved dredging, side-scan sonar and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) missions.
Coral Reef Ecology Field Course, University of Notre Dame, December 2009 - January 2010
Another undergraduate student and I studied the effects of artificial light illumination on ostracod density off South Water Caye, Belize.
University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center (UNDERC) East Summer Program, May - July 2009
I examined the effects of chemical cues from competitors, including an invasive species, and a potential predator on the feeding rate of a freshwater snail, Helisoma trivolvis.
Sura SA, Mahon HK (2011) Effects of competition and predation on the feeding rate of the freshwater snail, Helisoma trivolvis. American Midland Naturalist 166:358-368
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), University of Notre Dame, May - August 2008
I worked with the Belovsky Lab to conduct field research on grassland ecosystems in Montana. I examined how factors, such as soil, plants, microclimate, and grasshopper density, influence nitrogen cycling in two similar grassland habitats.