Postdoctoral Researchers

Matt Ferner

I am broadly interested in how the physical environment affects organism behavior and performance. In particular, my research targets the consequences of water motion and habitat structure for the trophic ecology of marine invertebrates. I am currently using a combination of quantitative laboratory and field techniques to examine how: (1) Habitat structure and hydrodynamics combine to affect predator-prey recognition and patterns of consumer pressure; (2) Material flexibility of feeding structures limits the potential for resource acquisition; and (3) Small-scale coastal topography affects water retention and post-settlement growth of sessile suspension feeders. My general goal with all of this research is to gain insight into the mechanisms by which abiotic factors exert selective pressure on organisms and ultimately help to drive ecological patterns.

Graduate Students

Kerry Nickols

Although marine ecologists have developed ideas and theories surrounding the importance of recruitment for marine populations and communities, the dispersal stage of many marine organisms is still a black box.  In order to understand larval ecology and connections between benthic organisms and their larval stage, I am working to better understand the oceanographic connections between nearshore and offshore regions. I am especially interested in topographic influences on very-nearshore transport and mixing, as potential agents of larval retention.  I am focusing on the Coastal Boundary Layer, a region of attenuated flow adjacent to the coastline.  My field work thus far has concentrated on the really inner shelf along the California coast (i.e, inshore of the 20 m isobath), where I have measured current speeds as a function of distance from shore and depth.  I am also working on a particle dispersion model, which will explore the effects of the Coastal Boundary Layer on larval dispersal.

Annaliese Hettinger

My general interests are in biomechanics and hydrodynamics as they relate to interactions between marine organisms and their physical environment.  I am examining connections between fluid flow, various types of biological structures, and topographical features that span an assortment of habitat types.  I am also developing my dissertation research that will entail quantifying the impacts of ocean acidification on the strength, structural integrity, and function of several key species in rocky intertidal ecosystems.

Undergraduate Students

Rachael Dickey

Interested in algal biomechanics, particularly patterns of size and strength across gradients of tidal height.  She absolutely loves the early AM tides at Bodega Marine Lab.

Matt Petty

A jack-of-all trades who can’t stop developing new experimental apparatus.  His claim to fame is his work creating novel gadgetry for studying the mechanics of food capture by mm-scale suspension feeders.