Matt Ferner

I am broadly interested in how physical forces affect biological processes at organismal and population scales. My research focuses on the environmental context of consumer performance, with emphasis on the consequences of water motion and habitat characteristics for foraging success in benthic marine systems. I use a combination of quantitative laboratory, field and modeling techniques to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of sensory behavior, functional morphology and benthic hydrodynamics. Currently I am expanding these approaches to examine the details of water retention and transport processes along rocky shores of variable topography and exposure. My general goal with all of this research is to uncover new insights about how abiotic factors exert selective pressure on organisms and ultimately help to drive ecological patterns.

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.

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.