Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Dr. Cary Tuckfield is a PhD ecologist and evolutionary biologist with over 35 years of experience in statistical consulting and problem-solving in natural resource and environmental issues. He has spent two decades at the Savannah River National Laboratory and has contributed extensively to research on the impacts of climate change and pollution on aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Tuckfield's collaborative work with fellow scientists Drs. McArthur and Belk has yielded insights into microbial ecology, food safety, and the conservation of native fish populations. His passion for ecology and statistics drives his commitment to advancing scientific understanding and environmental sustainability.
R. Cary Tuckfield
Cary Tuckfield is PhD ecologist and evolutionary biologist. He used his MS degree in statistics as a career path to consulting with other scientists and engineers in solving natural resource and environmental problems. He spent 20 years at the Savannah River National Laboratory managing the Statistical Consulting Section and a decade afterward teaching statistics at Strayer University in Augusta, GA.
Dr. Tuckfield has been a frequent co-author and co-research investigator with the other two principals and associates in this company; viz., Drs. Belk and McArthur. We have researched the effects of an expected increase in the frequency of drought cycles in the Intermountain West due to climate change on the population stability of an endemic fish to Utah Lake. We have compared the range of anti-microbial resistance traits among common shellfish pathogens in pristine versus metal-contaminated estuaries along the southeastern coast of the US.
And, we have characterized the hypothesis testing criteria in the food safety industry for the prevalence of pathogenic strains of E. coli bacteria associated with pre-harvest samples of leafy green produce. Most recently, Dr. Tuckfield collaborated with Dr. Wayne Arendt of the US Forest Service Tropical Research lab in Puerto Rico which shows that shade-tree coffee plantation agriculture promotes a greater density of habitat specialist bird species than the typical and traditional monocultural plantation methods. Dr. Tuckfield brings 35+ years of experience to the workplace for statistical consulting and problem solving.
R. Cary Tuckfield
Ecologist Evolutionary Biologist PhD
Mark Belk
Mark Belk is a Professor of biology and a PhD ecologist on the faculty of the Brigham Young University Department of Biology. His research interests include Evolutionary ecology, population ecology, conservation biology of native fishes, and life history evolution and ecology.
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Dr. Belk provides a depth of understanding of tropical aquatic ecosystems. He leads an annual student expedition to the rainforests of Costa Rica to study native tropical fish biology.
He conducts research and provides conservation advice on the native US fish species of the intermountain west and among species endemic to south-central Chile. He collaborates extensively with other international ecologists and statisticians.
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J Vaun McArthur
Mark Belk
Professor of Biology & Ecologist PhD
J Vaun McArthur is a PhD microbial ecologist. He recently retired from the faculty of the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Ecology where he taught on this subject to introductory
class sizes of 300+ students. He spent over 2 decades at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, also affiliated with UGA and the US Department of Energy Savannah River Site.
Dr. McArthur has numerous publications on patterns of microbial interaction in nature and the acquisition of antibiotic resistance traits among microbes in freshwater streams exposed to
heavy metal contamination. He is also the author of the book “Microbial Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach”. He has consulted broadly on natural science topics including antimicrobial susceptibility among shellfish pathogens in pristine and heavy metal-contaminated estuarine habitats.
This was part of the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative. He also provided food safety consulting on pathogenic strains of E. coli bacteria typical of historical agricultural outbreaks during the harvest and marketing of leafy-green produce.
J Vaun McArthur
Microbial Ecologist PhD