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Sanctuary Currents 2013
Change: Observations on the Shifting Ecology of the Sanctuary

General Info & Program | Session Abstracts | Ricketts Lecture | Research Posters & Awards
Symposium Flyer (560K PDF) | Symposium Program (645K PDF)

Ed Ricketts Memorial Lecture

 

Dr. Mark Carr

University of California, Santa Cruz

 

What would Ed do? Innovations in science and management of kelp forest ecosystems in the 21st century

Edward Ricketts was among the exceptional marine natural historians of the 20th century. His creative and diligent observations of species and communities through time generated insights into the environmental processes and species interactions that shape rocky intertidal ecosystems. Today we emulate these approaches by combining long-term observations with emerging technologies to generate insights into the processes that determine geographic patterns of community structure, population replenishment and productivity of kelp forest ecosystems. By combining remotely sensed oceanographic and seafloor features with advanced diving technology and large scale, long-term surveys we reveal the processes that drive the structure of coastal marine communities and provide insights into their conservation and management.

 

About Mark Carr

Dr. Mark Carr is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz (http://research.pbsci.ucsc.edu/eeb/rclab/). He received his BA in Biology at UC Santa Cruz, his MS at San Francisco State University and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and his PhD at UC Santa Barbara. Before coming to UCSC, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Zoology Department at Oregon State University and a faculty researcher at UC Santa Barbara.

Mark's research focuses on the population and community ecology of tropical and temperate coastal marine fishes, and coastal marine ecosystems. Much of his research has focused on the oceanographic processes and habitat features (e.g. giant kelp forests) that influence patterns of fish recruitment and population replenishment; interactions within and between species that regulate marine populations; and biotic and abiotic processes that influence the structure and functions of kelp forest ecosystems. To explore each of these, he combines long-term, large scale monitoring studies and field experiments. His ecological research informs management and conservation topics including artificial reefs, ecosystem-based management of kelp forest ecosystems, the design and evaluation of marine protected areas, collaborative fisheries research, ecosystem-based fisheries management, and large-scale, long-term monitoring studies. He is a principal investigator with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), a multi-university consortium designed to conduct interdisciplinary research that informs coastal marine management and policy.

Mark teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in ecology, marine ecology, and marine conservation. His graduate students study the ecology of coastal marine fishes, freshwater salmonids, and kelp forest ecosystems. He is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow. He served as Co-chair of the Science Advisory Team to California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) and California's Ocean Protection Council (OPC). He sits on the steering committee for CAMEO, a funding program for marine ecosystem research jointly sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Marine Fisheries Service.


History of Ricketts Memorial Award and Past Recipients

Reviewed: September 08, 2023
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