Research
I work as a Sr. Research Associate III in Dr. Diego Lirman's Coral Restoration Lab at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School. My main areas of focus are coral reef restoration, conservation, and citizen science. In addition to being a research associate, I oversee Rescue a Reef (www.rescueareef.com), our lab's coral restoration program designed to support reef research and coral conservation through education, outreach, and citizen science. My passion is to better understand the complex relationships between individuals and their environment.
I am a double UM alum, graduating with a Master of Professional Science degree in Marine Biology and Ecology (2015) and Master of Science in Education degree in Community Psychology (2021) to help research and understand the dynamics of communities, coral conservation, and social change (Hesley et al. 2017, 2023). Before that, I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (2013) from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a focus on animal behavior. As a Minnesota native, I grew up with a love for the outdoors and a passion for its' preservation, and look forward to passing along this passion to future generations.
Publications
Pilnick, A. R., Henry, J. A.,
Hesley, D., Akins, J. L., Patterson, J. T., & Lirman, D. (2023). Long-term retention and density-dependent herbivory from Diadema antillarum following translocation onto a reef restoration site.
Coral Reefs,
42(3), 629–634.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02369-5
Unsworth, J. D.,
Hesley, D., D’Alessandro, M., Carrick, J. v., Kaufman, M., Rivas, N., & Lirman, D. (2023). Dense clusters improve efficiency and foster colony development in restored Acropora cervicornis.
Coral Reefs,
42(2), 337–341.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02342-8
Rivas, N.,
Hesley, D., Kaufman, M., Unsworth, J., D’Alessandro, M., & Lirman, D. (2021). Developing best practices for the restoration of massive corals and the mitigation of predation impacts: influences of physical protection, colony size, and genotype on outplant mortality.
Coral Reefs,
40(4), 1227–1241.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-021-02127-5
Lirman, D., Unsworth, J., Alessandro, M. D., &
Hesley, D. (2021).
Bulletin of Marine Science Parrotfish target large relocated corals causing restoration bottleneck.
https://doi.org/10.5343/73
Unsworth, J. D.,
Hesley, D., D’Alessandro, M., & Lirman, D. (2021). Outplanting optimized: developing a more efficient coral attachment technique using Portland cement.
Restoration Ecology,
29(1), 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13299
Koval, G., Rivas, N., D’Alessandro, M.,
Hesley, D., Santos, R., & Lirman, D. (2020). Fish predation hinders the success of coral restoration efforts using fragmented massive corals.
PeerJ,
8.
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9978
Hesley, D., Burdeno, D., Drury, C., Schopmeyer, S., & Lirman, D. (2017). Citizen science benefits coral reef restoration activities.
Journal for Nature Conservation,
40, 94–99.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2017.09.001 
