OUR TEAM
Our team explores the environmental and biological forces governing the ocean resilience using a suite of methods including field experiments, mathematical modeling, and synthesis.
Adrian Stier
Principal Investigator
Ecology, Conservation, and Management
The unifying thread linking my work is the recovery and resilience of ocean ecosystems. I am motivated by a desire to deepen our basic understanding of how ecosystems are assembled and an urgent need to develop sustainable management strategies for coastal marine ecosystems.
Emily Donham
Postdoc
Kelp forest ecology
Eco-physiology
Global change biology
My research is aimed at understanding how spatial and temporal variability in environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, oxygen, pH) impact marine species’ physiology and ecology. My approach is to integrate oceanographic sensor data, diver-based surveys, and controlled laboratory experiments in efforts to link organismal responses to community level processes. Prior to joining the lab, I received a Master’s in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC Santa Cruz.
Adnan Alalawi
PhD Student
Coral reef restoration
Bioacoustics
I am a graduate student in the Steir lab. I will be focusing on designing and producing artificial reefs that can assist in rehabilitating degraded coral reefs due to elevated temperatures, sedimentation, and anchor damage. I will also be incorporating bioacoustics as a tool to collect more accurate information about the reefs and as a means to promote the recovery of a reef. I have 15 years of experience in marine conservation research, ranging from fin-fisheries and shrimp-fisheries stock assessment to coral reef ecology and aquaculture.
Adelaide Dahl
PhD Student
Coral reef restoration
I am a benthic ecologist interested in investigating how patterns of habitat structure and diversity change under different environmental conditions. I am especially curious about the ways in which ecological patterns change across systems and over time. Before starting at UCSB I received my Master's in Biology at California State University, Northridge. I am also an avid illustrator and when I am not lucky enough to be underwater I like to bike, ski, and spend time outdoors!
Alumni
We are so excited about all of the accomplishments of our alumni. We can’t wait to see what they do next!
Samantha Csik
MS 2020
Sam completed an outstanding MS thesis examining the role of temperature in driving lobster physiology and feeding ecology in 2020. Sam now works at NCEAS as a data analyst
Joseph Curtis
Lab manager 2019-2022
Joe was the lab manager for the first 3 years for the lab and worked in Moorea and in Santa Barbara on our research focused on corals, lobsters, and kelp. He’s now a PhD student in New Zealand!
Dr. Kai Kopecky
PhD 2024
Kai worked on the resilience of coral reef ecosystems and now works at CU Boulder as a postdoc.
Dr. Kurt Ingeman
postdoc 2018-2020
Kurt was the lab’s first postdoc focused on synthesizing how ocean recoveries are moving targets. He was then sponsored as a Smith Conservation Biology postdoc in the lab. He now works as an analyst for SOEST UH Manoa!
Dr. Bart Difiore
PhD 2023
Bart worked on the ecological consequences of fishing in driving kelp forest ecology and now works as a postdoc at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Dr. Megsie Siple
postdoc 2019-2020
Megsie worked as a JSMF postdoc focused on the link between ecosystem monitoring and ecosystem based management. She now works as a fisheries scientist at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA.