About me

I am a recovering terrestrial ecologist interested in the ecological roles of sea cucumbers and in developing more sustainable sea cucumber fisheries. I am a PhD candidate in the Marine Ecology Lab and part of the Earth2Ocean research group at Simon Fraser University.

About me

I am a recovering terrestrial ecologist interested in the ecological roles of sea cucumbers and in developing more sustainable sea cucumber fisheries. I am a PhD candidate in the Marine Ecology Lab and part of the Earth2Ocean research group at Simon Fraser University.

Research

My PhD work is focused on all things echinoderm! In Eleuthera, The Bahamas, I investigated the ecological roles sea cucumbers play in seagrass meadows and what happens to these systems when we fish them out. Back home, I'm working with the Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nation's fisheries program to help improve the management of the commercial sea cucumber fishery in BC and with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on assessing the population status of Sunflower sea stars.

Science Communication

I regularly share my work with both academic and non-academic audiences​ and am working with Skype-A-Scientist to make science more accessible for kids. Check out this talk about my first thesis chapter.

Science Communication

I regularly share my work with both academic and non-academic audiences​ and am working with Skype-A-Scientist to make science more accessible for kids. Check out this talk about my first thesis chapter!

Statistics

All of this talk about sea cucumbers is really just a distraction from my true love: statistics! In addition to developing some pretty sweet models for my thesis work, fellow stats enthusiast Helen Yan and I have created Bayes' Baes: an online platform of statistical resources, by ecologists, for ecologists. Check us out if you'd like to learn more, and shoot me a message if you'd like to get involved with our team!

Get in touch!

If you have any questions, are interested in collaborating, or would like a copy of one of my publications, please feel free to email me at hwatkins 'at' sfu.ca or fill out the form here.