Lab

Policies and Procedures

This document has been reviewed and revised by all lab members as of January 2021. <pdf>

Personnel

Matt Bracken, Principal Investigator

Email: m.bracken@uci.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I am interested in linking community-level and ecosystem-level processes, especially in marine systems. Ecological communities are composed of suites of interacting species, and I study how those species mediate the transformation and flux of energy and nutrients. Like many complex systems, a functioning community can be greater than the sum of its parts, and my work highlights the emergent role of biodiversity as a driver of important ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling (e.g., Bracken et al. 2011, Bracken & Williams 2013) and biomass accumulation (e.g., Bracken et al. 2017, Bracken 2020). I am also interested in the role of local-scale versus large-scale processes, spatial subsidies (Bracken et al. 2012, Bracken 2020), and non-traditional species interactions. For example, I have done quite a bit of research into the roles of consumers as mediators of nutrient availability in marine systems (e.g., Bracken & Nielsen 2004, Bracken et al. 2007, Bracken et al. 2018).

Robin Fales, Postdoctoral Scholar

Email: r.fales@uci.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I’m broadly interested in understanding changes in foundation species, especially habitat-forming seaweeds, as well as the communities that they support. I earned my B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of California, Irvine, and a M.S. in Biology in the Coastal Ecology Lab at Cal Poly Pomona.  My Master’s work (Fales and Smith 2022) revealed long-term declines and local extinctions of a species of rockweed which provides important habitat where few other canopy forming seaweeds can live. For my PhD, I became motivated to ask more mechanistic questions about seaweed ecology/physiology. My dissertation examined the response of habitat-forming kelp species to warming and other stressors to inform conservation and management of kelps in Washington state (see a summary here: FHL Tide Bite). Now I have returned to UC Irvine as a Postdoctoral Scholar and I am excited to be working on the NSF funded grant – Linking species traits to marine ecosystem functioning: Evaluating functional redundancy and vulnerability of associated ecosystem processes across environmental gradients.

Hannah Hall, Junior Specialist

Email: hallh1@uci.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I am broadly interested in the ecological interactions required to maintain a healthy marine community and how these communities respond to environmental stress. I received my B.S. from Denison University, where I developed basic knowledge in ecosystem ecology and management, specializing in marine resource studies in Bocas del Toro, Panama. After graduating, I gained valuable working experience through scientific education and coral restoration internships in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Curaçao, respectively. Since then, I have earned my M.S. in marine ecology and conservation through the International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea) program associated with Ghent University. My master’s thesis contributed to ongoing research regarding the physiological implications and feasibility of transplanting temperate seagrasses during winter. I am now excited to bring my experiences with ecosystem engineering species to the University of California, Irvine, and assist in the NSF grant-funded project on linking seaweed species traits to marine ecosystem functioning.

Raechel Hill, Ph.D. Candidate

Email: raechelh@uci.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I’m broadly interested in coastal pollution and its effects on biodiversity and ecosystem health as well as interdisciplinary connections and science communication. I received my B.A. in Marine Ecology from the University of San Diego where I participated in interdisciplinary educational and research experiences: research on marshland fish in San Diego, surveys of epibionts on dock pilings in Bocas del Toro, Panama, and studies of decolonization of science and environmental ethics. I’m now researching the effects of polluted domestic runoff on the biodiversity and nutrient cycling of rocky intertidal ecosystems. I specifically focus on excess nutrients and herbicides present in drain water that flows directly from residential areas into intertidal habitats. I study the effects on the biodiversity of invertebrates and macroalgae, nitrogen cycling within tidepools, and overall seasonal changes and influences. My secondary focus is on science communication and interdisciplinary efforts, including the intersection of philosophy, engineering, art, and science. I have collaborated with undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty from various fields and departments.

Beatriz Alejandra Rios Rojas, Ph.D. Student

Email: briosroj@uci.edu

Curriculum Vitae

I am interested in explaining how the distribution patterns of marine invertebrate assemblages are influenced by processes that operate at different spatial scales in marine environments. For example, environmental variables such as temperature and water quality may influence processes over larger scales, whereas biotic variables such as recruitment and interspecific relationships affect smaller-scale distribution patterns. Most of my research has been focused on polychaetes: as an undergraduate student I defined the distribution of symbiont sea worms inhabiting sponges in mangrove roots in La Restinga National Park, Venezuela, and as a Master’s student I determined how different types of sediment inputs affect the distribution of polychaetes associated with soft bottom habitats in the Gulf of Venezuela. As a Ph.D. student, I’m planning to study how dominant marine invertebrates influence coastal biogeochemistry (e.g., changes in pH and nutrients) and how those processes affect recruitment and community assembly on California rocky shores.

Marco Brunyer, Lenny Korob, Tracy Le, Carmen Ott, and Meilo Soriano Undergraduate Students