Benthic Ecology Lab

The Benthic Ecology Lab seeks to elucidate how global climate change and human activities affect marine species at the molecular, organism, and population-level as well as affect community structure and ecosystem functioning. They investigate the ecological effects of wave energy development on benthic communities. Within this context, the lab explores two main issues:

• How a reduction in wave energy will affect communities and species inshore of wave capture devices.
• How the introduction of novel ‘habitat’ provided by wave capture devices and associated structures affects communities and species within an array of wave energy capture devices.
• The lab is also engaged in other research about human impacts on benthic systems.

Currently, they are investigating potential bioaccumulation of metals and organic compounds from the Georgia Pacific paper mill outfall in benthic organisms. The lab is also are investigating the success (in terms of providing ecosystem services such as habitat and sediment accumulation) of a replanted native eelgrass bed as compared to longer-standing reference beds.