Max Castorani, Ph.D. Candidate, UCD-SDSU Graduate Group in Ecology. Max is working on eelgrass-ghost shrimp interactions.
Susan Williams
University of California, Davis – Department of Evolution and Ecology
Professor, Bodega Marine Laboratory
Bodega Marine Laboratory
P.O. Box 247
Bodega Bay, CA 94923
- About
BS, Biology, University of Michigan, 1972
MS, Biological Oceanography, University of Alaska, 1977
PhD, Botany and Marine Biology, University of Maryland, 1981Research Interests:
My research focuses on the ecology of nearshore marine ecosystems, particularly seagrass and seaweed beds and coral reefs. These ecosystems are highly productive and provide a number of ecosystem 'services' such as recycling of organic matter and providing habitat and food for numerous marine species including economically valuable ones. These ecosystems are found at the land-sea margin, a highly variable, stressful, and disturbed environment. Their component organisms are stressed from exposure to air and warming ocean waters and disturbed by anthropogenic activities including habitat destruction and invasions by non-native species. The ecosystems I study have protected status due to their value to humans, and I am committed to communicating research results to resource agencies and policy makers charged with their management (see Public Service, below). My focus on environmental stress and change has evolved from my career-long interest in how communities and ecosystems function, including how variation in resource availability influences resources acquisition and allocation and how species interactions (competition, herbivory) influence plant function and biogeochemical processes.
For additional information see Research tab, above.
Honors
- 2010, Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, UC Davis
- 2009, Wiese Distinguished Lecturer, Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- 2009, Keynote speaker, Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network
- 2009, Outstanding Mentor, Consortium for Women in Research, UC Davis
- 2009-2011, President, Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation
- 2003, Keynote address, 3rd International Marine Bioinvasions Conference, San Diego
- Fellow, America Association for the Advancement of Science
- Fellow, California Academy of Sciences
- Fellow, Aldo Leopold Fellow in Environmental Leadership, Ecological Society of America
Selected Recent Public Service
- 2010-present Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation Board of Directors
- 2010 Invited briefing, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy Task Force
- 2008 National Research Council, invited briefing, Committee on Mariculture Practices
- 2008 U.S. Senate, testimony before Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, HR 1187
- 2008 Panel reviewer, New Zealand Foundation for Science, Research & Technology
- 2007 U.S. House of Representatives, testimony before Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, HR 1187
- 2007 Pacific Legislative Task Force on Fisheries, invited briefing
- 2001-2006 RASGAP (California Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel, appointed by the Secretary for Resources)
- 2006 Invited briefing on invasive species, Ecological Society of America, National Press Club
- 2005 Invited testimony, State Senate Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on SB 768 (finfish aquaculture)
- 2004 Invited briefing, Department of Fisheries, New South Wales, Australia, Conference on Caulerpa Management: ‘Caulerpa taxifolia Management’ and ‘Invasive Species Management in the U.S.’
- 2004 Ecological Society of America, Rapid Response Team on Invasive Species
- 2004 Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force's (ANSTF) Caulerpa Working Group for the "National Management Plan for Invasive Caulerpa species"
- 2003 Invited testimony, California Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture (ocean research)
- 2003 Invited testimony, City Council, Santa Rosa, CA (effects of ocean wastewater outfall)
- 2002 Invited speaker, "Solutions Forum on Invasive Species", National Academy of Sciences, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Federation.
- 2002 Invited briefing, US House of Representatives Ocean Caucus, on Caulerpa invasion management
- 2001 Invited testimony, California Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture on ocean observing
- 2001-2005 CeNCOOS (Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System) Regional Association, Governance Committee and Executive Committee
- 2001-2006, RASGAP (California Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel)
- 2001-2005 Russian River Salmon Recovery Workgroup
- 2001 Invited briefing, Pacific Legislative Task Force on Fisheries
- 2001 Invited testimony before California State Assembly Appropriations Committee on Caulerpa
- 2001 Invited testimony before California Joint Panel on Fisheries and Aquaculture on invasive species
- 2001 Invited briefing to congressional staff and agency heads on invasive species, DC, National Association of Marine Laboratories
- 2001 Review Panel, FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary Monitoring Program, Key West
- 2000-2005 Southern California Caulerpa Action Team (SCCAT)
- Research
Ecology and conservation of seagrass and seaweed beds
Seagrasses are protected under the US Clean Water Act and the loss of seagrass from deliberate causes must be mitigated. I found that the transplanting eelgrass (Zostera marina) to mitigate its loss has eroded the genetic diversity so important for its long term adaptation to the rapid changes (ocean warming, sea level rise, eutrophication) occurring in its estuarine and nearshore habitats. More importantly, transplanted eelgrass populations with low levels of genetic diversity grow slower than populations with higher genetic diversity, even over the short time period mandated for evaluation of mitigation success. These and my previous results on eelgrass genetic diversity provided the basis for the National Marine Fisheries Service to modify eelgrass mitigation policy in southern California.
Williams, S.L. 2001. Reduced genetic diversity in eelgrass transplantations affects both individual and population fitness. Ecological Applications 11:1472-1488.
Williams, S.L. and R.J. Orth. 1998. Genetic diversity and structure of natural and transplanted eelgrass populations in the Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries 21:118-128.
Williams, S.L. and C.A. Davis. 1996. Population genetic analyses of transplanted eelgrass (Zostera marina) reveal reduced genetic diversity in southern California. Restoration Ecology 4:163-180.
Ecology and management of marine invasive species
Marine invasive species are one of the top environmental concerns for the ocean. Research in my lab has focused on the ecological effects of the non-native Asian mussel (Musculista senhousia), the stinging anemone (Bunodeopsis sp.), and the 'killer' seaweed (Caulerpa taxifolia) on seagrasses in southern California. We have identified the double threat that the Asian mussel and eutrophication pose for eelgrass.
Nearshore marine ecosystem function
Seaweed Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function-
Dr. Matt Bracken and I have been funded by the National Science Foundation to evaluate the consequences of nonrandom biodiversity changes in intertidal seaweed assemblages on primary production and nutrient acquisition. Most studies to date have addressed the influence of random changes in biodiversity on community structure and function, yet we know that diversity changes in predictable, nonrandom ways in response to eutrophication, physical stress, and herbivory.
Moorea Coral Reef LTER-
I am a collaborator in the Moorea Coral Reef project supported by the National Science Foundation. I am addressing the environmental controls on nitrogen fixation by coral reef algal turfs.This research complements my long-standing interest in how herbivory and nutrients interact to influence the primary production and nitrogen cycling by seagrasses and seaweeds.
Williams, S.L. and R.C. Carpenter. 1997. Grazing effects on nitrogen fixation in coral reef algal turfs. Marine Biology 130:223-231.
Williams, S.L. and M.H. Ruckelshaus. 1993. Eelgrass and epiphytes: the relative effects of nitrogen availability and mesoherbivory. Ecology 74:904-918.
Interactive Effects of Herbivory and Stress on Seaweed Resource Acquisition, Allocation, and Fitness
This study is a collaborative NSF-sponsored project with Dr. Megan Dethier (Friday Harbor Laboratories, U. Washington). Using the high intertidal rockweed, Fucus gardneri, as a model, we are investigating how herbivory and stress interact to influence how seaweeds gain resources (carbon) through photosynthesis, how they allocate resources to key processes of growth, reproduction, herbivore-deterrent compounds (polyphenolics), and storage. Ecological theory predicts that organisms should make trade-offs among such processes when challenged by the environment. While the effects of herbivory on seaweed metabolism and populations are well-described, and there is considerable literature on temperature and desiccation effects, the interaction between herbivory and stress has not been investigated. Fucus is stressed over a sharp gradient in physical factors across its intertidal distribution over a tidal cycle and among seasons. (See Fucus Research.) We have measured photosynthesis of Fucus from 14 sites on San Juan Island, Washington, in both water and air to determine its carbon balance (resource capital), accompanied by measurements of mannitol and laminaran (brown seaweed storage products analogous to starch in green plants), polyphenolics, growth, and reproduction to evaluate resource allocation patterns. We have manipulated herbivory and stress in the field and in controlled outdoor mesocosms, making similar measurements.
Our preliminary results indicate that, at our sites, stress is more important than herbivory in influencing growth, polyphenolic concentration, and perhaps reproduction. Resource acquisition through photosynthesis is limited more by the amount of time Fucus spends exposed to air than how desiccated it is at low tide, although desiccation does reduce photosynthetic rates. Fucus is remarkably tolerant to large increases in temperature. If these effects are important beyond the level of an individual, the population growth rates of Fucus living in different environments should reflect the differences. To test this, in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Wright, we are constructing a demographic model to estimate population growth rates across the intertidal distribution of the seaweed.
- Publications
Tomas, F., J.M. Abbott, C. Steinberg, M. Balk, S.L. Williams and J.J. Stachowicz. 2011. Plant genotype and nitrogen loading influence seagrass productivity, biochemistry, and plant-herbivore interactions. Ecology 92:1807-1817.
Bracken, M.E.S., E. Jones and S.L. Williams. 2011. Herbivores, tidal elevation, and species richness simultaneously mediate nitrate uptake by seaweed assemblages. Ecology 92:1083-1093.
Sorte, C. J.B., S.L. Williams, and R. A. Zerekecki. 2010. Ocean warming increases threat of invasive species in a marine fouling community. Ecology 91:2198-2204.
Sorte, C. J.B., S.L. Williams, and J.T. Carlton. 2010. Marine range shifts and species introductions: comparative spread rates and community impacts. Global Ecology and Biogeography 19:303-316.
Waycott, M., C.M. Duarte, T.J.B. Carruthers, R.J. Orth, W.C. Dennison, S. Olyarnik, A. Calladine, J.W. Fourqurean, K.L. Heck, Jr., A.R. Hughes, G.A. Kendrick, W.J. Kenworthy, F.T. Short and S.L. Williams. 2009. Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106:12377-12381.
Hughes, A.R., J.J. Stachowicz, and S.L. Williams. 2009. Morphological and physiological variation among seagrass (Zostera marina) genotypes. Oecologia 159:725-737.
Dethier, M.N. and S.L. Williams. 2009. Seasonal stresses shift optimal intertidal algal habitats. Marine Biology 156:555-567.
Stewart, H.L., J.P. Fram, D.C. Reed, S.L. Williams, M.A. Brzezinski, S. MacIntyre, B. Gaylord. 2009. Differences in growth, morphology and tissue C and N of Macrocystis pyrifera within and at the outer edge of a giant kelp forest in California, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 345:101-112.
Hughes, A.R, S.L. Williams, C.M. Duarte, K.L. Heck, Jr., and M. Waycott. 2009. Associations of concern: declining seagrasses and threatened dependent species. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7:242-246.
Williams, S.L., A. Carranza, J. Kunzelman, S. Datta, and K.M. Kuivila. 2009. Effects of the herbicide diuron on cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) reflectance and photosynthesis parameters. Estuaries and Coasts 32:146-157.
Heck, K.L, Jr., T.J.B. Carruthers, C.M. Duarte, A.R. Hughes, G. Kendrick, R.J. Orth, and S. Williams. 2008. Trophic transfers from seagrass meadows subsidize diverse marine and terrestrial consumers. Ecosystems 11:1198-1210.
Nakaoka, M., M. Matsumasa, T. Toyohara and S.L. Williams. 2008. Animals on marine flowers: does the presence of flowering shoots affect mobile epifaunal assemblage in an eelgrass meadow? Marine Biology 153:589-598.
Bracken, M.E.S., S.E. Friberg, C.A. Gonzalez-Dorantes and S.L. Williams. 2008. Functional consequences of realistic biodiversity changes in a marine ecosystem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105:924-928.
Fram, J.P., H.L. Stewart, M.A. Brzezinski, B. Gaylord, D.C. Reed, S.L. Williams, S. MacIntyre. 2008. Physical pathways and utilization of nitrate supply to the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. Limnology and Oceanography 53:1589-1603.
Williams, S.L. and E.D. Grosholz. 2008. The invasive species challenge in estuarine and coastal environments: marrying management and science. The H.T. Odum Synthesis Essay (invited). Estuaries and Coasts 31:3-20.
Williams, S.L. 2007. Introduced species in seagrass ecosystems: status and concerns. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 350:89-110. (invited review)
Williams, S.L. and J.E. Smith. 2007. A global review of the distribution, taxonomy, and ecological effects of introduced seaweeds. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 38:327-259. (invited review)
Carpenter, R.C. and S.L. Williams. 2007. Mass transfer limitation of photosynthesis of coral reef algal turfs. Online First, DOI 10.1007/s00227-006-0465-3.
Orth, J.J., T.J.B. Carruthers, W.C. Dennison, C.M. Duarte, J.M. Fourqurean, K.L. Heck, Jr., A.R. Hughes, G.A. Kendrick, W.J. Kenworthy, S. Olyarnik, F.T. Short, M. Waycott, and S.L. Williams. 2006. A global crisis for seagrass ecosystems. BioScience 56:987-996.
Lodge, D.M., S. Williams, H. MacIsaac, K. Hayes, B. Leung, S. Reichard, R.N. Mack, P.B. Moyle, M. Smith, D.A. Andow, J.T. Carlton, and A. McMichael. 2006. Biological invasions: recommendations for U.S. policy and management. Ecological Applications 16:2035-2054.
Harley, C., A.R. Hughes, K. Hultgren, B. Miner, C. Sorte, C. Thornber, L. Rodriguez, L. Tomanek, and S. Williams. 2005. The impacts of climate change in coastal marine systems. Ecology Letters 9:228-241.
Williams, S.L., T.E. Ebert and B.J. Allen. 2005. Does the recruitment of a non-native mussel into native eelgrass habitat explain the disjunct adult distributions? Diversity and Distributions 11:409-416.
Williams, S.L. and M.N. Dethier. 2005. High and dry: variation in net photosynthesis by the intertidal seaweed, Fucus gardneri. Ecology 86:2373-2379.
Dethier, M.N., S.L. Williams and A. Freeman. 2005. Seaweeds under stress: manipulated stress and herbivory affect critical life history functions. Ecological Monographs 75:403-418.
Naylor, R., K. Hindar, I. Fleming, M. Mangel, S.L. Williams, J. Volpe, F. Whoriskey, J. Eagles, and D. Kelso. 2005. Fugitive salmon: assessing risks of escaped fish from netpen aquaculture. BioScience 55:427-437.
Hughes, A.R., L.F. Rodriguez, A.J. Bando, and S.L. Williams. 2004. Relative effects of grazers and nutrients on seagrasses: a meta-analysis approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 282:87-99.
Wright, J.T., S.L. Williams and M.N. Dethier. 2004. No zone is always greener: variation in the performance of Fucus gardneri embryos, juveniles and adults across tidal zone and season. Marine Biology 1145:1061-1073.
Padilla, D.K. and S.L. Williams. 2004. Beyond ballast water: aquarium and ornamental trades as sources of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2:131-138.
Williams, S.L. and S.L. Schroeder. 2004. Eradication of the invasive seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia by chlorine bleach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 272:69-76.
Ebert, T.E. and S.L. Williams. 2003. Rejoinder to Fourqurean et al. Limnology and Oceanography 48: 2074-2075.
Allen, B.J. and S.L. Williams. 2003. Native eelgrass Zostera marina controls growth and reproduction of an invasive mussel through food limitation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 254:57-67.
Johnson, M., S.L. Williams, C.H. Lieberman, and A. Solbak. 2003. Changes in the abundance of the seagrasses Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) and Ruppia maritima L. (widgeongrass) in San Diego, California following an El Niño event. Estuaries 26:106-115.
Haring, R.N., M.N. Dethier and S.L. Williams. 2002. Desiccation facilitates wave-induced mortality of the intertidal alga, Fucus gardneri. Marine Ecology Progress Series 232:75-82.
Williams, S.L. and E.D. Grosholz. 2002. Preliminary reports from the Caulerpa taxifolia invasion in Southern California. Marine Ecology Progress Series 233:307-310.
Ebert, T.A., S.L. Williams, and P. J. Ewanchuk. 2002. Mortality estimates from age distributions: Critique of a method used to study seagrass dynamics. Limnology & Oceanography 47:600-603.
Coleman, F. and S.L. Williams. 2002. Overexploitation of fish ecosystem engineers: implications for continental shelf communities and management. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17:40-44.
Naylor, R., S.L. Williams, and D.R. Strong. 2001. Aquaculture- a gateway for exotic species. Science 294:1655-1656.
Williams, S.L. 2001. Reduced genetic diversity in eelgrass transplantations affects both individual and population fitness. Ecological Applications 11:1472-1488.
Williams, S.L. and K.L. Heck, Jr. 2001. Seagrass Communities, p. 317-337. In: M. Bertness, S. Gaines, and M. Hay (eds.), Marine Community Ecology. Sinauer Press, Sunderland, MA.
Cheroske, A.G., S.L. Williams and R. C. Carpenter. 2000. Effects of physical and biological disturbances to Hawaiian algal turf communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 248:1-34.
Reusch, T.H.B. and S.L. Williams. 1999. Macrophyte canopy structure and the success of an invasive marine bivalve. Oikos 84:398-416.
- Lab
Max Castorani, Ph.D. Candidate, UCD-SDSU Graduate Group in Ecology. Max is working on eelgrass-ghost shrimp interactions.
Olivia Turnross, Ph.D. Student, UCD. As an undergraduate, Olivia helped Max on his eelgrass research.
Emily Jones, Ph.D. Candidate, UCD-SDSU Graduate Group in Ecology. Emily is working on herbivore effects on seaweed physiology.
Jessica Abbott, Ph.D. Candidate, UCD Population Biology Graduate Group, and Katie Dubois, Research Assistant, are measuring fluorescence of eelgrass as part of Jessica’s dissertation research and the NSF project with Susan, Jay Stachowicz, and Rick Grosberg.
Dale Trockel, Ph.D. Candidate, UCD Applied Mathematics and Dr. Rohani Ambo-Rappe, faculty at Hasanuddin University, Sulawesi, talk about plastic marine debris in Indonesia, collaborating with Susan.Current Graduate Students
Grace Ha, Ph.D. student, Graduate Group in Ecology
Former Williams Lab members
Top row: Terry Fei Fan Ng (U. South Florida), Cascade Sorte (Ph.D. student), Dr. Randall Hughes, Dr. Matt Bracken Bottom row: Eric Fan (undergrad, UCD), Sara Friberg (REU student; New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology), Susan Williams, Albert Carranza (Research Associate), Amanda Newsom (Ph.D. student) Absent: Laura Rodriguez (in Baja California)
From left to right: Back row: Cotton Rockwood (research associate), Emily Jones (staff research associate), Terra Hazen (lab assistant), Susan Williams, Matt Bracken (visiting collaborator), Albert Carranza (staff research associate). Front row: Amanda Newsom (Ph.D. candidate), Cascade Sorte (Ph.D. candidate), Amber Szoboszlai (Ph.D. student).
From let to right: Amanda Newsom (Ph.D. student), Melody Young (REU student), Dr. Cynthia Hays (BML post-doc), Omar Bonilla (REU student), Dr. Matt Bracken (post-doc), Laura Rodriguez (Ph.D. student), Susan Williams, Cascade Sorte (Ph.D. student), Teresa DiMarco (lab assistant), Emily Jones (lab assistant), Albert Carranza (Staff Research Associate). Missing: Kaiko'o Victor (REU student)
BS, Biology, University of Michigan, 1972
MS, Biological Oceanography, University of Alaska, 1977
PhD, Botany and Marine Biology, University of Maryland, 1981
Research Interests:
My research focuses on the ecology of nearshore marine ecosystems, particularly seagrass and seaweed beds and coral reefs. These ecosystems are highly productive and provide a number of ecosystem 'services' such as recycling of organic matter and providing habitat and food for numerous marine species including economically valuable ones. These ecosystems are found at the land-sea margin, a highly variable, stressful, and disturbed environment. Their component organisms are stressed from exposure to air and warming ocean waters and disturbed by anthropogenic activities including habitat destruction and invasions by non-native species. The ecosystems I study have protected status due to their value to humans, and I am committed to communicating research results to resource agencies and policy makers charged with their management (see Public Service, below). My focus on environmental stress and change has evolved from my career-long interest in how communities and ecosystems function, including how variation in resource availability influences resources acquisition and allocation and how species interactions (competition, herbivory) influence plant function and biogeochemical processes.
For additional information see Research tab, above.
Honors
- 2010, Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, UC Davis
- 2009, Wiese Distinguished Lecturer, Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- 2009, Keynote speaker, Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network
- 2009, Outstanding Mentor, Consortium for Women in Research, UC Davis
- 2009-2011, President, Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation
- 2003, Keynote address, 3rd International Marine Bioinvasions Conference, San Diego
- Fellow, America Association for the Advancement of Science
- Fellow, California Academy of Sciences
- Fellow, Aldo Leopold Fellow in Environmental Leadership, Ecological Society of America
Selected Recent Public Service
- 2010-present Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation Board of Directors
- 2010 Invited briefing, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy Task Force
- 2008 National Research Council, invited briefing, Committee on Mariculture Practices
- 2008 U.S. Senate, testimony before Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, HR 1187
- 2008 Panel reviewer, New Zealand Foundation for Science, Research & Technology
- 2007 U.S. House of Representatives, testimony before Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, HR 1187
- 2007 Pacific Legislative Task Force on Fisheries, invited briefing
- 2001-2006 RASGAP (California Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel, appointed by the Secretary for Resources)
- 2006 Invited briefing on invasive species, Ecological Society of America, National Press Club
- 2005 Invited testimony, State Senate Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on SB 768 (finfish aquaculture)
- 2004 Invited briefing, Department of Fisheries, New South Wales, Australia, Conference on Caulerpa Management: ‘Caulerpa taxifolia Management’ and ‘Invasive Species Management in the U.S.’
- 2004 Ecological Society of America, Rapid Response Team on Invasive Species
- 2004 Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force's (ANSTF) Caulerpa Working Group for the "National Management Plan for Invasive Caulerpa species"
- 2003 Invited testimony, California Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture (ocean research)
- 2003 Invited testimony, City Council, Santa Rosa, CA (effects of ocean wastewater outfall)
- 2002 Invited speaker, "Solutions Forum on Invasive Species", National Academy of Sciences, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Federation.
- 2002 Invited briefing, US House of Representatives Ocean Caucus, on Caulerpa invasion management
- 2001 Invited testimony, California Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture on ocean observing
- 2001-2005 CeNCOOS (Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System) Regional Association, Governance Committee and Executive Committee
- 2001-2006, RASGAP (California Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel)
- 2001-2005 Russian River Salmon Recovery Workgroup
- 2001 Invited briefing, Pacific Legislative Task Force on Fisheries
- 2001 Invited testimony before California State Assembly Appropriations Committee on Caulerpa
- 2001 Invited testimony before California Joint Panel on Fisheries and Aquaculture on invasive species
- 2001 Invited briefing to congressional staff and agency heads on invasive species, DC, National Association of Marine Laboratories
- 2001 Review Panel, FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary Monitoring Program, Key West
- 2000-2005 Southern California Caulerpa Action Team (SCCAT)