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Our
research interests broadly include the ecology and conservation
of marine mammals, seabirds and the habitats upon which they depend.
We focus in two areas.
One includes an examination of how physical and biological factors
explain and ultimately may be used to predict the distribution of
large, highly mobile marine predators such as marine mammals and
seabirds. Here we examine the interaction between the physiological,
behavioral and life history characteristics of marine mammals and
seabirds, physical and biological oceanographic processes, and the
distribution, abundance, and behavior of prey species.
The second focuses on the most important threat to seabird populations
and island ecosystems worldwide: the introduction of non-native
species (e.g. cats, rats, pigs, goats, sheep, foxes, etc.). This
research examines the changes that result from the introduction
of non-native species to islands and seeks to understand, develop,
and improve methods for the restoration of island ecosystems.
Current research projects include:
1) the foraging ecology of blue, fin and humpback whales in the
California Current
2) trophic links in the Monterey Bay upwelling ecosystem
3) ecological restoration of the islands of Northwest Mexico and
California
4) introduced foxes and seabirds: the role of top-down processes
in controlling marine subsidies to terrestrial ecosystems. |