HomeConservationMarineInvertebratesSurvey Assessment Project

Marine Invertebrate Survey and Assessment Project

The Marine Invertebrate Survey and Assessment Project focuses on addressing processes that impact marine populations and communities, and then applies these findings to fishery management and marine conservation issues. Staff work primarily with benthic (sea floor) marine invertebrates inhabiting nearshore rocky reef ecosystems, or sand, mud, or soft sediment environments. Staff use field, experimental and modeling approaches to understand population and community-level dynamics. Current research investigates:

  • Status and health of the red abalone resource in northern California
  • Modeling approaches to describe growth, survival and reproduction in red abalone
  • Indirect effects of fishing ecosystem engineers
  • Harmful algal bloom interactions with abalone and sea urchin
  • The role of marine reserves as control areas for fishing impacts
  • Sensitivity analyses of matrix population models for fished and endangered species
  • Oceanographic conditions that influence larval abundance of the Dungeness crab
  • Fishing pressure effects on clam communities
  • Video: Abalone Survey Dive Methodology (YouTube)(opens in new tab)

List of Publications