I plan to explore the navigation and search behaviors of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Using light-level geolocation (historic records), Argos satellite telemetry, CTD, and GPS tags, I will determine the reliable cues used by these animals to accurately navigate over thousands of kilometers of open ocean habitat. I will use several modeling approaches to quantify the different movement behaviors exhibited at sea and identify regions of area restricted search.

I will also have the opportunity to investigate spatial and temporal variability in these patterns by tagging animals from different rookeries and following individuals through multiple foraging trips.

Prior to joining the Costa lab, I was involved with several research projects on Catalina Island . (1) Spiny lobster population monitoring, (2) Subtidal algae/invertebrate/fish surveys for the Cooperative Research and Assessment of Nearshore Ecosystems (CRANE) project, and (3) the implementation of surface current lagrangian drifters to assess larval delivery patterns.

Robinson, P.W. , Costa, D.P., Crocker, D.E. (in prep). Comparison of indirect measures of foraging location and extent via remote tracking. Deep Sea Research (Biologging II edition).

Iacchei, M.J., Robinson, P.W. , Miller, K.A. (in press). Direct impacts of commercial and recreational fishing on spiny lobster populations at Santa Catalina Island , California , United States . New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.

Iacchei, M.J., P.W. Robinson , and K.A. Miller (2004). The effects of two different marine reserve designs on spiny lobster populations at Santa Catalina Island , CA . 85 th annual Western Society of Naturalists meeting, Rohnert Park , CA .

Iacchei, M.J., Robinson, P.W. , Miller, K.A. (2003). The impacts of commercial and recreational fishing on spiny lobster populations at Catalina Island , CA . 84 th annual Western Society of Naturalists meeting , Long Beach , CA .

Robinson, P.W. , Iacchei, M.J., Miller, K.A. (2003). The ecology and population structure of adult California Spiny Lobster at Santa Catalina Island , CA . 84 th annual Western Society of Naturalists meeting, Long Beach , CA .

Robinson, P.W. (2003). Time Residency Plots: an Analysis of Common Dive Behavior Statistics and Implications for TDR Studies. Honors Senior Thesis (advisor: D.P. Costa), University of California , Santa Cruz .