They will collaborate with Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge of Oregon State University, Mark Denny and George Somero of Stanford, and Steven Gaines and Robert Warner of UCSB, on long-term field and laboratory studies. The group's goal is to effectively clarify just what drives the nearshore intertidal and subtidal environments of the Oregon and California coasts. Carr and Raimondi will be in charge of field research within the central third of the study area, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Subtidal biologists use a meter-square transect to identify and count organisms. Working underwater brings many challenges, and divers can be limited by time, poor visibility, and cold water temperature.
Ecologists use similar methods to study the intertidal zone, but are a bit more comfortable.
The second major portion of the grant supports an interdisciplinary research program to train undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. They will work in the laboratories of consortium research faculty and attend summer courses and topical workshops. The program will expand students' formal training in population and community ecology, physiological ecology, and physical and biological oceanography. In addition, students will be introduced to different approaches to ecology and molecular biology and learn the latest in marine ecological research techniques. The third element bridges researchers and policy makers.