Yasoma D Hulathduwa
B.S.in Zoology,University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, 1999.
Ph.D Louisiana State University May, 2006
E-mail yhulat1@lsu.edu
yasomah@yahoo.com
Research Work
I am interested in examining the factors that affect commensal organisms of oyster reefs.
During the past four years I have looked at how hydrocarbons, salinity and tidal height
play a role in colonization of oyster reefs by various species.
I have also worked on bio-energetics of two mud crab species (Panopeussimpsoni and
Eurypanopeus depressus) found among the reef community in Gulf of Mexico. In these
studies, measurements of oxygen consumption, ammonium excretion and food
consumption are measured across a salinity gradient and converted to energetic
equivalents to determine sub-lethal effects of salinity. Competition among these two mud
crab species is also an interesting aspect I am working on. My current experiments lead to
understand how the competitive ability of these two species varies in different salinities.
Personal
I was born & raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka-a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean.
I like to read, swim and travel. I also enjoy my time with my family; there’s never a dull
moment with my husband Cecil & my two year old son, Yasith.