I am a doctoral candidate in the freshwater ecology lab at the University of South Florida’s Department of Integrative Biology in Tampa. I am currently investigating abiotic factors (particularly, site morphometry, habitat complexity, surrounding land use and landscape structure) influencing the presence, abundance, and species composition of waterbirds  in isolated freshwater ponds and marshes.

A Florida native, I obtained two Bachelor of Science degrees in Geology and Environmental Science from USF in 2005, followed by a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science (concentrating on island hydrogeology) from the University of Guam at the Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific, a highly ranked USGS research facility.

My professional and academic experience includes:

• managing south Florida wetlands for the Seminole Tribe of Florida
• conducting benthic marine surveys in Yap (F.S.M.) and Saipan (C.N.M.I.)
• managing environmental remediation projects in Florida and Guam
• conducting terrestrial wildlife surveys in south Florida scrub and wetland habitat

I can be reached by email at smhoffm4@mail.usf.edu. Expected graduation is Spring 2016.