Kelp Forests, Coral Reefs, and the Long-Term Ecological Research Program: Synergies and Impacts on a Scientific Career

Abstract

Involvement with the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has enabled me to ask novel and exciting science questions at larger spatial and longer temporal scales than I could have otherwise. It has enhanced my ability to engage in interdisciplinary collaborative research. The LTER program has afforded my graduate students a variety of opportunities that have enhanced their training and experiences as early career scientists. My undergraduate students learn about LTER research findings in my classes and have the opportunity to work as research assistants in the field and the laboratory. My experiences with LTER- funded research have made me aware of the importance of community and K–12 outreach, and it has provided me opportunities to plan such activities. Engaging in the LTER program has provided me with a myriad of opportunities to collaborate with other sites and groups to address network-level science questions. My collaborators include investigators from within the LTER network, as well as international scientists. My experience in the LTER network began in 2000, when the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER project was established, and expanded in 2004 with the founding of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER site. I have been a co–principal investigator at both of these sites since their inception. Because I am a marine community ecologist, my research interests and those of my graduate students are closely aligned with the goals and activities of both sites. My LTER network-level experiences include a 3-year term on the LTER Executive Board, participation in several LTER All Scientists Meetings, and a network-sponsored working group on abrupt state shifts. Currently, I am a professor of ecology in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California (UC) Santa Barbara. My disciplinary background is population and community ecology, and prior to my involvement with the LTER program, my research and that of my students focused mainly on questions related to population dynamics and species interactions.