Recovering ocean ecosystems

We study resilience from individuals to ecosystems.
Partnering with managers and communities, we translate this science into strategies that drive recovery.

Impact, at a glance

80

peer-reviewed publications

$10M+

competitive research funding

14

open datasets & software (DOIs)

20+

active partners & institutions

Google Scholar ORCID GitHub Featured Papers

Numbers current as of Sept 2025. Funding reflects cumulative competitive awards as PI or co-PI.

Divers working over a reef—field research scene

Who We Are

We are a research group at UC Santa Barbara exploring resilience from the level of individual organisms to entire marine ecosystems. Our team blends field experiments, quantitative models, and synthesis to uncover the processes that shape biodiversity and stability. By partnering with managers and communities, we translate these insights into strategies that guide conservation, restoration, and recovery.

Meet the Team

Research Themes

Coral Reef Recovery

Field experiments and models reveal how disturbance, biotic interactions, and restoration actions shape coral resilience and regeneration.

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Kelp Forest Resilience

How climate, fishing, and community feedbacks govern kelp recovery—linking experiments, time series, and decision frameworks for management.

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Organismal Mechanisms

From wound healing to thermal limits: identifying thresholds and biological signatures that scale from individuals to ecosystem outcomes.

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Get Involved

Funders

See how your support drives measurable conservation and restoration outcomes.

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Collaborators

Partner with us on experiments, synthesis, and restoration projects.

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Students

Discover undergraduate and graduate opportunities in the lab.

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Featured Papers

Resilience thresholds in kelp forests

Identifies tipping points where urchin control rapidly restores kelp canopy—now used to set action triggers with managers.

Open Access Data & Code

Read paper Data / code

Coral recovery pathways under heat stress

Shows when outplanting vs. natural recruitment dominates recovery—informing site selection and cost-effective interventions.

Policy cited OA

Read paper Data / code

Organismal resilience signals

Links healing rates and thermal limits to population outcomes—providing early indicators managers can monitor.

Methods DOI

Read paper Data / code