Explorers on Davidson Seamount
Scott Benson
Erica Burton
Gregor Cailliet
David Clague
Andrew DeVogelaere
William J. Douros
Randall Kochevar
Kelly Newton
Edward Seidel
Mario Tamburri
Tonatiuh Trejo
Scott Benson
Marine Ecologist
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA
Scott Benson, a marine ecologist with extensive at-sea research experience throughout the world's oceans, is a co-investigator in the National Marine Fisheries Service's leatherback turtle ecology program and coordinates central California leatherback research. His education includes a BA from San Diego State University and an MS in marine science from California's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Since 1985, his research projects have included integrated studies of marine mammals, seabirds and leatherback turtles, with emphasis on abundance, distribution, ecology, and oceanographic patterns influencing the occurrence of these species. Recent field work has included systematic aerial surveys in central California, at-sea capture and satellite tagging of leatherback turtles in Monterey Bay, and nesting beach research in Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, and St. Croix. Mr. Benson has designed, coordinated, and analyzed results from ongoing surveys of marine birds and mammals in Monterey Bay, including collaborative at-sea ecosystem studies and a Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary program to monitor beach deposition rates of marine vertebrates. Results from these studies have successfully documented natural and anthropogenic impacts on seabirds and marine mammals, and were instrumental in identifying appropriate management actions to protect vulnerable marine species from fishing bycatch in central California. Mr. Benson has published his research in peer-reviewed journals and technical reports and presented results at international conferences on the biology of marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles.
Erica Burton
Marine Scientist
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA
Erica Burton is a marine scientist and research specialist for NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. She will assist with ROV (remotely operated vehicle) operations, and bird and mammal surveys. Erica earned a BS in marine biology at Long Beach State University, and an MS in marine science at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. She has conducted research on radiometric age and longevity determination of long-lived fishes including the giant grenadier, bocaccio rockfish, Atlantic tarpon, and Atlantic sturgeon. Her work for the sanctuary involves fishery resources, marine reserves, damage assessment surveys, and submerged cultural resources. She recently served as mission coordinator on the Sanctuary Quest West Coast 2002 Expedition.
Gregor M. Cailliet, PhD
Professor
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Co-Principal Investigator, Davidson Seamount Exploration
Gregor M. Cailliet received his PhD in biological sciences at the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1972, studying the feeding habits of deep-sea fishes. He became a faculty member at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories that same year, and teaches classes in ichthyology, marine ecology, and population biology. His research interests focus on the ecology of fishes (both bony fishes and sharks and rays), especially those in deep-sea, coastal, and estuarine habitats. Dr. Cailliet and his graduate students mainly study the life history (feeding habits, age and growth, age validation, reproduction, and demography) of fishes. In addition, he continues to study deep-water fishes along the coast and in the Monterey submarine canyon, using nets and deep submersibles. He has advised more than 90 graduate students and has published close to 100 scientific papers and books on fish and deep-sea ecology.
David Clague, PhD
Senior Scientist
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
After spending nearly 3 years as the director of research and development at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), David Clague is currently a senior scientist there. Prior to coming to MBARI from the U.S. Geological Survey in 1996, he was Scientist-in-Charge of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory for five years. He has a BA in geology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a PhD in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego. He has participated in nearly 20 oceanographic cruises and an additional 20 submersible or ROV dive programs, and has authored or co-authored nearly 170 scientific articles, maps, and reports. In 2001, he coordinated MBARI's first major expedition, when the research vessel Western Flyer went to Hawaii for three months. His present research interests include the structure and chemistry of lavas and the formation of isolated oceanic volcanoes such as the Davidson Seamount. Most of his research, however, focuses on the formation and evolution of large oceanic volcanoes, such as the Hawaiian Islands, and on the eruptions that make the ocean crust at mid-ocean spreading centers. He will be going to sea two more times this summer -- first on the Gorda Ridge, a spreading center offshore of Oregon, and then to Hawaii, where he will dive in the 6,500-m submersible Shinkai as a guest on a Japanese cruise operated by JAMSTEC.
Andrew DeVogelaere, PhD
Marine Scientist
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA
Chief Scientist and Co-Principal Investigator, Davidson Seamount Exploration
As chief scientist for the Davidson Seamount exploration, Andrew DeVogelaere is responsible for the overall planning, logistics, and at-sea decision-making for the expedition. This cruise's equally integrated objectives of science, education, and resource management make it unique. Dr. DeVogelaere will work closely with experienced leaders for each of these cruise components to ensure optimal operations and collaboration. As research coordinator for NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Dr. DeVogelaere is responsible for all aspects of the sanctuary research program. This includes facilitating collaboration among more than 20 research groups in the region, providing technical information to decision- makers, assessing sanctuary health with monitoring programs, and developing research on sanctuary resource management issues. He has been involved in a wide variety of research projects, from deep-sea habitats to estuaries, and in data-collection efforts from simple organism counts to satellite remote sensing. Using science to develop sound resource management decisions is his main interest, and as leader in the San Carlos School Ecology Club, he has a growing interest in science education for the public. Dr. DeVogelaere has a BA in biology from the University of California at Berkeley, an MS in marine science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and a PhD in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
William J. Douros
Superintendent, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Resource Management Team Leader and Co-Prinicipal Investigator, Davidson Seamount Exploration
William J. Douros is the superintendent of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. His responsibilities include all aspects of site and staff management, interaction with the Sanctuary Advisory Council, and liaison to the leadership of NOAA and the U.S. National Marine Sanctuary Program. Mr. Douros' past work and educational experience combine coastal policy, marine science, and operational management. Immediately after graduating with an MS in marine ecology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1985, he went to work for the Santa Barbara County Energy Division, which regulates the county's offshore oil and gas development. In addition to managing that program for 7 years, he has also bagged groceries, baked pizzas, and fought forest fires. Mr. Douros' graduate work, conducted at Santa Cruz Island, examined intra-specific competition within extremely high-density populations of black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii). He also evaluated archaeological remains to determine how prehistoric predation on abalone may have affected their populations. He has performed well over 600 research dives as both a principal researcher and field assistant. He received a BS with honors in environmental biology from UC-Santa Barbara in 1981.
Randall E. Kochevar, PhD
Science Communications Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Outreach Coordinator and Co-Principal Investigator, Davidson Seamount Exploration
Randall E. Kochevar was born and raised in Colorado, and received his BS in biology from the Colorado College in 1987. He then moved to the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he studied the physiology of deep-sea hydrothermal vent and hydrocarbon seep organisms. He received his PhD from UC-Santa Barbara in 1992. Following completion of his dissertation, Dr. Kochevar received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where he studied the physiology of cold seep organisms in Monterey Bay. After completing his MBARI postdoctoral research in 1995, he became a research scientist at the aquarium. He served as the team leader of the Deep Sea Research and Development Program, as well as the life sciences representative on the core exhibit development team for “Mysteries of the Deep.” He has also worked closely with the staff of the E-Quarium Web site and the MBA Press, and is currently in charge of science communications for the aquarium.
Kelly Newton
Research Assistant
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Kelly Newton holds a BS in ecology and systematic biology from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Her senior project was on net phytoplankton abundance and distribution in the Pacific Ocean. Her current interests include marine mammals, sea birds, and sea turtles that visit Monterey Bay. On this cruise, Ms. Newton will assist with bird and mammal surveys, specimen collection, and ROV dive operations. Her work at the sanctuary involves beach monitoring, bird and mammal surveys, aerial surveys, and Web development.
Edward Seidel
Associate Curator
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Edward Seidel's interest in marine science, and science in general, started at an early age with his botanist mother and marine biologist grandmother introducing him to the natural world. He began his formal study of biology (and art, another primary interest) at Middlebury College in Vermont, and completed an MS in marine biology at California's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. After graduating, he joined the Peace Corps and worked to protect marine habitats in the Philippines. While there, he learned about the Monterey Bay Aquarium through an article in The National Geographic magazine, and was inspired by the challenge that an aquarium poses: To create scientifically accurate and aesthetically pleasing portraits of the underwater world that foster conservation and stewardship of the ocean. He lives in Monterey with his wife and young son, and anticipates the arrival of his second child this July.
Mario N. Tamburri, PhD
Chief Scientist, Alliance for Coastal Technologies
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Science Team Leader and Co-Prinicipal Investigator, Davidson Seamount Exploration
After spending over five years at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Mario N. Tamburri recently became the chief scientist for the Alliance for Coastal Technologies at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Dr. Tamburri received his BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara, his MS from the University of Alabama, and his PhD from the University of South Carolina. He has led several applied research programs, including an effort to prevent ballast water transport of invasive species, and worked with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to develop the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network. Dr. Tamburri's basic research interests lie in understanding the mechanisms that regulate biological and ecological processe. He has worked extensively on the chemical ecology of organisms in habitats ranging from estuaries to the deep sea.
Tonatiuh Trejo
Research Assistant
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
A 1997 graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Tonatiuh Trejo is currently pursuing a master's degree at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) under his advisor, Dr. Gregor Cailliet. Before arriving at Moss Landing last fall, he worked for 2 years on the Human Genome Project at Stanford University. His thesis project at MLML is investigating the population genetics of Pacific Ocean pelagic sharks, such as the mako and common thresher. In addition, Mr. Trego has a strong interest in deep-sea biology, which he is pursuing with researchers at the Montery Bay Aquarium Research Institute. In his free time, he enjoys nature photography and Afro-Cuban jazz.
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