We are a group of marine ecologists in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. Although research projects in the lab are diverse, we are collectively interested in understanding the population and community ecology of coastal ecosystems. Our team studies a variety of nearshore habitats, including kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, and the rich biodiversity that these environments support. We combine long-term observations, experiments, and models to understand the abundance and distribution of species across a broad range of scales. Much of our work is interdisciplinary, involving collaborations in biogeochemistry, geomorphology, hydrodynamics, mathematics, oceanography, and remote sensing. Through our research, we aim to push the boundaries of fundamental understanding and apply our discoveries to improve coastal conservation, restoration, and management.