Megan La Peyre.

Dr. La Peyre received graduate degrees from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, and Louisiana State University and was a post-doctoral fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Wetland and Aquatic Resources Center before joining the Louisiana Unit in 2000. Dr. La Peyre conducts research on shallow water estuarine ecology and restoration linking biotic and abiotic drivers to inform our understanding and management of biogenic habitat forming keystone species including reef forming shellfish, and submerged aquatic vegetation. Dr. La Peyre’s core research areas focus on shellfish (oyster) metabolism, population dynamics, oyster reef restoration and ecosystem service provision, and dynamics of estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation. Her research uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining metabolic, organismal to population and ecosystem level studies to facilitate and enable the development of robust mechanistic understanding and models transferable to a variety of estuarine systems. La Peyre regularly teaches courses in Natural Resources Policy, and Science Communication.