Research Interests

 

Japanese Artificial Reefs designed for Abalone Propagation

General:
     I want to understand the interactions in the oceans and understand how we can manipulate and change the ecosystem. My current vested interest is within the scope of artificial reefs. Understanding how we can manipulate the marine environment in order to better facilitate resource gathering from the oceans.
     The sea has so much to show us, yet we understand so little about it. Over millennia the human species has perfected agriculture and the art of utilizing the bare minimum amount of land for the highest yield of produce. We do not view the ocean the same way. As the human species has shifted and technology surpassed our understanding to effectively utilize it. In other words, we built the means to vastly exploit the marine environment without an understanding as to best utilize the marine environment. A large scale kelp forest could be "a vast resource for elevated secondary production, nutrient cycling, energy capture and flow, coastal defense, direct applications, and biodiversity repositories." (Smale et al 2013) With that understanding in mind, the question is why haven't we viewed the status of mariculture in a similar fashion we view sustainable agriculture. Nutrient cycling, carbon sequestering, coastal erosion, and the oceans own natural resources are reason enough to erect a Kelp Forest Farm (quite possibly a marine farm that utilizes resources from the entire food chain).
     Finally, as you could tell I like to bring a camera with me diving and enjoy recording species. I have come to a point where I can recognize patterns and when an interaction or signaling event happens in a species, I would have the foresight to research around and help describe this interaction to better our understanding of all life. In layman's terms, if its something that seems fishy, then I let my curiosity take me down the tubeworm hole. I have always been interested in new or interesting organisms and for a while I was on the lookout for range extensions around the California bight. Back in 2019 I came across two Alloclinus holderi in a dispute, where jaw locking and biting were involved. This interaction spurred my curiosity and I now have a laundry list of species I seek to record and document. If through video we can better understand some inter workings and processes of the marine environment then I hope to explore and contribute what I can find.
    I like to think I maintain a passion project side of research and a pragmatic side of research. The artificial reef and larger scale fisheries management research is what I hope can bring in the grants and pay the bills while the marine species recording and documenting will be more of a fun side project I can do in tandem. I can see investors financing something that could heal the environment and make fishermen money but I don't see much money coming in for mating behaviors of commercially irrelevant species. 

Chestnut Cowry (Neobernaya spadicea)

Questions asked:
Artificial reef ecology:

-What factors play into the roll of artificial reefs productivity.

-What factors facilitate larger ecosystem valuation from man made structures.

-Where do man made structures in the marine environment fall short and reduce productivity in an area.

-Where do we take this artificial reef knowledge and how can we apply it to modern day problems surrounding the ocean environment.

Larger scope mariculture:

-Systems for larger views of the marine environment utilized in similar ways to agriculture.

-Long term marine resource facilitation. Platform repurposing. 

-Ecological imbalances (ex. urchin driven marine deforestation) that mariculture can utilize to bring back balance to the ecosystem system (ex. taking uchins from such locations and raising them to market valuable size in mariculture).

Current Research:

-Understanding community structure of historic sand dwelling kelp and instances of alternative stable states in that ecosystem.

-Viewing fish/invertebrate aggregations on artificial structures and understanding the factors leading to such.

-Currently studying artificial reef roles in the snow crab fishery out of Kyoto Prefecture while utilizing eDNA.

-Utilizing underwater camera to record benthic fish interactions to better understand their behavioral ecology.

Giant Kelpfish (Heterostichus rostratus) with a leech (Heptacyclus cabrilloi) in its pupil.

Current species of interest:
Alloclinus holderi  -  Island Kelpfish (Hubbs 1927)
Chaenopsis alepidota  -  Orange Throat Pikeblenny (Gilbert 1890)
Lovenia cordiformis  -  Heart Urchin (Agassiz, 1872)
Chionoecetes opilio - Snow Crab (O. Fabricius, 1788)
Istigobius campbelli - Kutsuwahaze (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)
Acentrogobius virgatulus - Sujihaze (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)
Mahidolia mystacina - Kasurihaze (Valenciennes, 1837)
Haliotis discus discus - Kuro-awabi (Reeve, 1846)

Works Cited:
Burreson, Eugene M., et al. “A New Species of Marine Leech (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from Giant   Kelpfish, Heterostichus Rostratus Girard, In Southern California.” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 98, no. 4, 2012, pp. 788–790., doi:10.1645/ge-3036.1.
Smale, Dan A., et al. “Threats and Knowledge Gaps for Ecosystem Services Provided by Kelp Forests: a Northeast Atlantic Perspective.” Ecology and Evolution, vol. 3, no. 11, 2013, pp. 4016–4038., doi:10.1002/ece3.774.