About

Our research interests fall into several broad categories within marine conservation and marine ecology but they usually involve some aspects of ecology (how do things change over space and time, and why) and the impacts of management on marine systems (how do we change and try to manage our impacts on the oceans, and what can we do better).

We have several current projects that fit into these categories, including:

• Factors controlling the decline and recovery of Pismo clams. Pismo clams were once an abundant recreational fishery species throughout California and in Pismo Beach in particular, but their abundance has declined statewide over the last several decades. We seek to understand the current status of Pismo clams and the mechanisms that impact their abundance. This project involves field work from Monterey to Baja California, as well as lab and experimental work, and includes collaborators at Cal Poly, agencies and organizations in San Luis Obispo County and institutions throughout California.
  
  
• Processes of herbivory and corallivory in the Caribbean. Parrotfish feed on algae that compete with corals (helping corals), but sometimes they feed directly on live corals (hurting corals). We study the feeding behavior of parrotfish to estimate their net effects on coral reefs, and how fisheries for parrotfish change these net effects. This project involves field work in the US Caribbean, as well as video analyses and ecological modeling, and includes collaborators at UC Santa Barbara and several federal agencies.
  
  
• Understanding the impacts of marine protected areas and oceanographic events on nearshore fisheries. Cal Poly has several ongoing nearshore fishery monitoring programs designed to provide information to understand how fish communities change following the implementation of marine protected areas. However, these programs also provide the opportunities to understand how changing climate and oceanography impact community trajectories, as well as how demography and food webs change with changing climate and management.
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• Understanding the potential for offshore renewable energy production along the California Central Coast. Offshore wind and wave energy will likely be an important part of California’s mix of renewable energy in the future. However, we still lack detailed information about the potential for energy production and the information needed to evaluate potential environmental and socioeconomic costs and benefits of renewable energy production. This project involves synthesis and modeling work with existing data, and includes collaborators at Cal Poly and federal agencies.
  
  
• Using artificial intelligence to facilitate monitoring in marine (and other) systems. Many organizations collect hours of video monitoring data, but processing those videos is expensive and time consuming. We are collaborating with computer scientists to develop new tools that we greatly speed the rate at which we can use computers to generate data from video. The potential applications for these tools go far beyond marine monitoring.