However, all this envy was forgotten after finishing my PhD when I prepared for my first postdoc position in San Diego, where I studied the impact of ocean acidification on the biomechanical properties of mollusk shells. I had a blast studying in that sunny and interesting city in one of the most famous marine laboratories in the world. Meanwhile, I was already preparing to eventually join Adam Summers' group in the middle of the marvelous Salish Sea at FHL. Not to mention, both positions – San Diego as well as FHL – brought me back into the water, SCUBA diving areas that I haven’t explored before.
My project at FHL focuses on the body armor of the fish family Agonidae, commonly called poachers. These fishes live on the bottom of the ocean, are heavily armored and usually hard to find. This is due to the fact that we still have very limited access to the depths they prefer to live in. In the Salish Sea however, things are a little easier in this regard. The local poacher species are not restricted to the bottom of the sea. In fact, there is even one species that lives in tide pools, which makes this perfect place to study these fishes.