Marine & Intertidal Invertebrates

When it comes to black abalone, many hold a story of deep connection to these seemingly inconspicuous invertebrates.

A method to measure populations in national parks could be expanded to other areas.

Read the abstract and get the link to a published science article on the important role of seaweed in the North Pacific nearshore ecosystem: Corliss, K., V. von Biela, H. Coletti, J. Bodkin, D. Esler, and K. Iken. 2024. Relative importance of macroalgae and phytoplankton to nearshore consumers and growth across climatic conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Estuaries and Coasts doi: 10.1007/s12237-024-01371-6

Since the middle of the 20th century, development of the California coastline has exploded and these areas are now home to millions of people. Prior to this era, the coastlines were dominated by a different species, black abalone. Ask anyone who grew up in coastal California in the mid-20th century and they will tell you that during any visit to the rocky shores, you’d encounter black abalone…and a lot of them!

Imagine a trip to the Redwood National and State Parks. What do you see? The majestic trees, towering above you? Let’s go a bit further, past the trees, all the way to the coastline. There, just in front of you: a smattering of rocks, exposed by the low tide. Step closer and see water pooling between the rocks, a crab disappearing into the sand, an anemone waving hello, and perhaps a purple sea star, clinging to one of the rocks. You've discovered the rocky intertidal zone.

Read the abstract and get the link to a peer-reviewed paper on the impacts of sea star wasting disease in the Gulf of Alaska: Konar, B., T. J. Mitchell, K. Iken, H. Coletti, T. Dean, D. Esler, M. Lindberg, B. Pister, and B. Weitzman. 2019. Wasting disease and static environmental variables drive sea star assemblages in the Northern Gulf of Alaska. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 520: 151209

Read a summary and link to the article published about mussel response to the marine heatwave and sea star wasting disease: Traiger, S. B., J. L. Bodkin, H. A. Coletti, B. Ballachey, T. Dean, D. Esler, K. Iken, B. Konar, M. R. Lindberg, D. Monson, B. Robinson, R. M. Suryan, and B. P. Weitzman. 2022. Evidence of increased mussel abundance related to the Pacific marine heatwave and sea star wasting. Marine Ecology : e12715.

Black abalone are endangered marine snails. When I told people that I was making a podcast about them, I was often met with the question, “Why black abalone?” If you are curious too, you’re in the right place. I hope to elucidate why black abalone represent an interesting case study in delicate balances: between marine and terrestrial, ancient and Anthropocene, and vulnerability and resiliency in the context of roles they play in their communities and in ours.

2020 Resource Brief, Nearshore Marine Systems. Many species depend on nearshore habitats, including several with well recognized ecological roles in the nearshore food web. Our work describes patterns of change in those species and identifies probable causes in order to support management and policy decisions for nearshore resources. This article describes recent findings of the nearshore marine system components related to the marine heatwave of 2014-2017.

Read the abstract and get the link to a published article on gene expression in razor clams to discern differences between two populations in the Cook Inlet of Alaska: Coletti, H. A., L. Bowen, B. E. Ballachey, T. L. Wilson, S. Waters, M. Booz, K. L. Counihan, T. E. Hollmen, and B. Pister. 2021. Gene expression profiles in two razor clam populations: Discerning drivers of population status. Life 11(12): 1288.