CORE FACULTY

Email: akapusci@ucsc.edu
Website: https://kapsar.sites.ucsc.edu
CV: Short CV

Topics of Interest:

  • Aquaculture/Water/Marine Systems
  • Agroecology/Food Systems
  • Biodiversity Conservation
  • Ecology
  • Innovation
  • Sustainability

Anne Kapuscinski, Director

Core Faculty
Sustainability Science
Professor, Environmental Studies

Anne R. Kapuscinski is an interdisciplinary scholar committed to finding scientifically and socially robust solutions to a major challenge: how to perpetuate healthy aquatic ecosystems while sustaining resource uses that support human wellbeing. Her past research examined impacts of dams, fish hatcheries, aquaculture and genetic engineering on fish conservation. Her current research aims to shift aquaculture, the world’s fastest growing food sector, towards sustainability. Her team uses marine microalgae to achieve fish-free feeds, thus decouple aquaculture from ocean-caught forage fish, reduce nutrient and carbon emissions and improve food security. She also pursues ecological aquaculture strategies to close water and nutrient loops and conserve biodiversity. Anne participates actively in the science-policy interface, presently as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Union of Concerned Scientists and member of the Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team, and has been a scientific advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (under three administrations), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, Global Environment Facility, European Union Food Safety Agency, state of Minnesota, and on four U.S. National Academy of Science committees. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Sustainability Transitions domain of the open-access journal, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. Her awards include a 2019 Ocean Award in Innovation, Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, and Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, among others. As Director of the Coastal Science and Policy Program, Anne guides and builds a diverse, inclusive community of students, faculty and partners to pursue scalable solutions to pressing coastal and ocean challenges.

Watch Anne describe her research here or read more about Anne and her research team at: https://casfs.ucsc.edu/research/agroecological-science/aquaculture.html and https://kapsar.sites.ucsc.edu/.

Email: jojcampb@ucsc.edu, elliott.campbell@ucsc.edu
Website: Campbell Lab
Phone: 831-854-7948

Topics of Interest:

  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Innovation
  • Quantitative Analysis/Modeling
  • Sustainability
  • Water/Marine Systems

Elliott Campbell

Affiliate Faculty
Earth Sciences, Policy & Governance
Associate Professor, Environmental Studies

Dr. Elliott Campbell is an Associate Professor and the Stephen R. Gliessman Presidential Chair in Water Resources and Food System Sustainability in the Environmental Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Campbell’s research emphasizes the use of regional and global models to extrapolate from small-scale field measurements to policy-relevant spatial scales, particularly within the context of agroecology and global biogeochemical cycles. This work has led to his CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, appearances in media ranging from NPR to The Economist, and consultations to the U.S. EPA and other government agencies. He serves on the Associate Editorial Board at Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and the faculty advisory committee at the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Dr. Campbell received his BS and MS from Stanford University and his PhD from the University of Iowa, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

Email: mhcarr@ucsc.edu
Website: RCLAB
Phone: 831-459-3958

Topics of Interest:

  • Ecology/Natural History
  • Kelp Forest Restoration
  • Marine Protected Area Management
  • Sustainability
  • Water/Marine Systems

Mark Carr

Core Faculty
Ecology and Evolution
Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Mark Carr studies the ecology of coastal marine and anadromous fishes, and coastal marine ecosystems, especially kelp forests. Mark’s research informs management and conservation topics including ecosystem-based fisheries management, design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs), and large-scale, long-term monitoring studies.

He is a principal investigator with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). Currently, he is a member of the California Ocean Protection Council’s (OPC) Science Advisory Team, and NOAA’s MPA Federal Advisory Committee.

Email: dcroll@ucsc.edu
Website: Coastal Conservation Action Lab
Phone: 831-459-3610

Topics of Interest:

  • Ecology/Natural History
  • Innovation
  • Marine Ecology
  • Marine Conservation Biology
  • Sharks/Ray/Turtle Conservation & Management
  • Sustainability
  • Water/Marine Systems

Don Croll

Core Faculty
Ecology and Evolution
Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Don Croll is a Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Co-founder of the conservation non-profit Island Conservation, Founding partner of the conservation for-profit Conservation Metrics, Inc., and Faculty Director of the UCSC Natural Reserve System. He has conducted conservation research on island ecosystems and marine vertebrates for over 30 years, and published over 100 papers and articles on the conservation and ecology of marine species and island ecosystems. As a professor, has been dedicated to developing the research programs, courses, and graduate training needed for direct conservation action. As a conservationist, his work has helped inform the closure of California gill net fisheries, the establishment of a ban on commercial fishing for krill US federal waters, the CITES listing of several manta ray species, the establishment of protected islands in Mexico, and the protection of insular threatened species from island invasive species. He has trained over 500 undergraduates in marine ecology and conservation, conservation biology, and field methods in conservation, and together with his conservation partner, Bernie Tershy, he has trained 14 graduates and post docs that have gone on to significant positions in conservation and resource management.

Email: griggs@ucsc.edu
Website: ims.ucsc.edu
Phone: 831-459-5006

Topics of Interest:

  • Climate Change
  • Coastal Resilience/Adaptation/Mitigation
  • Policy
  • Sustainability
  • Water/Marine Systems

Gary Griggs

Core Faculty
Earth & Ocean Sciences
Distinguished Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences

Gary has taught at U.C. Santa Cruz for 53 years and served as the Director of the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences for 26 years where he led the development of the Coastal Science Campus. His work has focused on the coast of California and includes coastal processes, hazards, and the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise. He recently published his 12 th book. In 1998 he was given the Outstanding Physical and Biological Sciences Faculty Award and the Alumni Association honored him with a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006. The California Coastal Commission and Sunset Magazine named him one of California’s Coastal Heroes in 2009, and in 2010 he was elected to the California Academy of Sciences. Gary chaired a committee in 2017 recommended by Governor Brown to update California’s sea-level rise projections. In 2016 he was appointed to the California Ocean Science Trust. He is also a member of the California Ocean Protection Council’s Science Advisory Team and served as chair of California’s 4th Climate Assessment Committee on Coasts and Ocean.

Email: bhaddad@ucsc.edu
Website: Center for Integrated Water Research

Topics of Interest:

  • Fresh Water Governance and Management
  • Renewable Energy Governance and Management
  • Coastal Water Systems
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Governance of Endorheic Systems (inland lakes)

Kristy Kroeker

Core Faculty
Ecology and Evolution
Associate Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Research in the Kroeker Lab addresses the drivers of change in marine communities. Our research program is advanced by two complementary approaches. First, we combine field experiments with laboratory manipulations to understand the underpinnings of community and ecosystem dynamics. Second, we use meta-analysis and modeling to synthesize empirical results and advance broad theoretical frameworks for predicting the emergent effects of environmental change. We use a variety of systems to answer our questions, from seagrass ecosystems and rocky intertidal communities to rocky reefs surrounding volcanic carbon dioxide vents and kelp forests.

Email: raimondi@ucsc.edu
Website: http://research.pbsci.ucsc.edu/eeb/rclab/
Phone: 831-459-5674

Topics of Interest:

  • Ecology/Natural History
  • Policy & Management
  • Kelp Forest Restoration
  • Quantitative Analysis
  • Sustainability
  • Water/Marine Systems

Peter Raimondi

Core Faculty
Ecology and Evolution

Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

The Raimondi-Carr lab studies aspects of basic and applied ecology and evolutionary biology of coastal ecosystems. Our research spans the land-sea interface, and includes freshwater systems, estuaries, the rocky intertidal, and subtidal reefs. We aim to understand processes that influence behavior, distribution, and interactions of populations and communities of fishes, invertebrates and algae that constitute these ecosystems. Our goal is to advance understanding of these systems and to inform coastal policy and management.

Email: klseto@ucsc.edu
Website: www.katherineseto.com

Topics of Interest:

  • Agroecology/Food Systems
  • Fisheries
  • Political Ecology/Geography
  • Water/Marine Systems
  • Sustainability

Katherine Seto

Core Faculty
Policy & Governance
Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies

Katherine Seto’s research centers on coupled human and natural systems dynamics in marine and coastal systems. Her primary areas of focus are 1) the contribution of marine resources to food and livelihood security, 2) governing marine and coastal systems for resource equity and sustainability, and 2) maritime security and globalization in a context of rapid global change. Katherine’s work informs marine resource management and policy reform, and spans multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.

Email: westj@ucsc.edu
Website: people.ucsc.edu/~jwest1/
Phone: 831-459-4381

Topics of Interest:

  • Economics
  • Energy
  • environmental/Social Justice
  • Policy
  • Quantitative Analysis
  • Sustainability

Jeremy West

Core Faculty
Economics
Assistant Professor, Economics

Jeremy West is an economist who studies public policy and environmental sustainability. Much of his research considers the implications of behavioral economics for the efficacy of public policies related to energy. He evaluates the distributional consequences of policies as well as their overall efficiency. Jeremy is a faculty affiliate of the E2e Project, a research collaboration to improve energy efficiency. As a postdoctoral associate in the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at MIT, he engaged extensively with government and industry parties working to improve environmental policies and practices.

Email: zavaleta@ucsc.edu
Website: Zavaleta Lab

Topics of Interest:

  • Biodiversity Conservation & Stewardship
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Conservation Science
  • Ecology/Natural History
  • Ecosystem and Community Dynamics
  • Meta-analysis
  • Policy & Management
  • Sustainability

Erika Zavaleta

Core Faculty
Ecology & Evolution
Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Erika is an ecosystem ecologist interested in the implications of interacting global and regional environmental changes, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and stewardship of wild ecosystems. Her research group studies the drivers and consequences of changing biological diversity and the role of ecology in guiding effective conservation practice.

Erika was appointed to the California Fish and Game Commission in March 2021.

Pidgeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero California