Education
BS 2010 Florida International University
dchacin (at) mail (dot) usf (dot) edu

Dinorah is interested in coastal processes that drive patterns in marine populations.  Her research seeks to understand how species interactions and communities respond to natural variability in the ecosystem as well as to anthropogenic effects. She is currently studying water clarity as a seascape factor and its effects on demography and behavior of visual organisms. Using pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) as a model species, Dinorah is exploring questions related to cues employed during predation risk assessment in different levels or turbidity. Her research combines mesocosm experiments with observational data from seagrass beds to understand patterns and processes across levels of turbidity.