Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Earth & Marine Sciences A308
Phone: 831.459.5358
Fax: 831.459.5353
Contact Us
Map & Directions

MARK CARR Professor of EEBiology B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz M.S. San Francisco State University Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara CARR LAB

Center for Ocean Health 100 Shaffer Road University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95060 phone 831.459.3958 831.459.5783 fax 831.459.3383 carr@biology.ucsc.edu office hours

Population and Community Ecology of Coastal Marine Organisms

The purpose of our research program is to better understand the structure and dynamics of populations and communities of nearshore marine organisms and their ecosystems. The underlying themes of this research are two-fold; firstly, to further our conceptual understanding of marine populations and communities by conducting empirical studies motivated by the evolving theory for these systems, and secondly, to apply these concepts to fisheries and conservation problems in innovative ways. Our approach is to integrate empirical studies conducted in the field and laboratory with the development of ecological theory, including models.

Currently, we are exploring the relative roles of, and relationships between, nearshore oceanographic and habitat features, larval supply, settlement and post-settlement processes (e.g., competition and predation) that influence the replenishment and persistence of populations. We are also interested in how structural features of reef habitats influence such biotic interactions. To date, most of this work has targeted populations and assemblages of temperate and tropical reef fishes. More recently, our lab has developed a broader ecosystem-wide interest in temperate reef (e.g., kelp forest) ecosystems as reflected in our role in the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). We also have a growing interest in coastal salmonid ecology, based largely on our growing research and teaching collaborations with the NOAA Fisheries Santa Cruz Lab located here on the UCSC campus. We are also exploring ways to apply such basic ecological information to the conservation of marine species and management of their fisheries.

Selected Publications

Graham, M.H., B.S. Halpern, and M.H. Carr. In press. Diversity and dynamics of California subtidal kelp forests: disentangling trophic interactions from habitat associations. T. McClanahan (ed), Marine Sublittoral Food Webs, Oxford University Press.

Anderson, T.W., M.H. Carr, and M.A Hixon.  in press. Patterns and mechanisms of variable settlement and recruitment of a coral reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Carr, M.H. and C. Syms. 2006. Chapter 15: Recruitment. pp. 411-427 In: Allen, L.G., D.J. Pondella II, and M.H. Horn (eds.) The Ecology of California Marine Fishes. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Stoms, D.M., F.W. Davis, S.J. Andelman, M.H Carr, S.D. Gaines, B.S. Halpern, R. Hoenicke, S.G. Leibowitz, A. Leydecker, E.M.P. Madin, H. Tallis, and R.R. Warner. 2005. Integrated coastal reserve planning: making the land-sea connection. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3:429-436.

Gaylord, B., S.D. Gaines, D.A. Siegel, and M.H. Carr. 2005. Consequences of population structure and life history for fisheries yields using marine reserves. Ecological Applications 15:2180-2191.

Shanks, A.L., B. Grantham, and M.H. Carr. 2003. Propagule dispersal distance and the size and spacing of marine reserves. Ecological Applications 13:S159-169.

Carr, M.H. and Syms, C. Recruitment: the replishment of demersal fish populations. Chapter In: L. Allen (ed.) The Ecology of California Marine Fishes. University of California Press (In press).

Carr, M.H., Neigel, J.E., Estes, J.A., Andelman, S.J., Warner, R.R. and Largier, J.L. 2003. Comparing marine and terrestrial ecosystems: implications for the design of coastal marine reserves. Ecological Applications. 13:S90-S107.

Shanks, A.L, Grantham, B. and Carr, M.H. 2003. Propagule dispersal distance and the size and spacing of marine reserves. Ecological Applications 13:S159-169.

Bergen, L.K and Carr, M.H. 2003. Science as a catalyst for policy: Informing the development of marine reserves. Environment. 45:8-19.

Carr, M.H., Anderson, T.W. and Hixon, M.A. 2002. Biodiversity, population regulation and the stability of coral-reef fish communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99:11241-11245.

Reed, D.C., Raimondi, P.T., Carr, M.H., and Goldwasser, L. 2000. The role of dispersal and disturbance in determining spatial heterogeneity in sedentary organisms. Ecology 81:2011-2026.

Allison, G., Lubchenco, J. and Carr, M.H. 1998. Marine reserves are necessary but not sufficient for Marine conservation. Ecological Applications (8(1). Supplement:S79-592.

Hixon, M.A, and Carr, M.H. 1997. Synergistic predation causes density-dependent mortality in marine fish. Science 277:946-949.

Caley, M.J., Carr, M.H., Hixon M.A., Hughes, T.P., Jones, G.P., and Menge, B.A. 1996. Recruitment and the population dynamics of open marine populations. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27:477-500.

Carr, M.H. 1994. Effects of macroalgal dynamics on recruitment of a temperate reef fish. Ecology 75:1320-1333.