University of California, Davis
Dept. of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology
and
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
(Bodega Marine Laboratory)
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
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Ph.D. - (Zoology: Marine Ecology) University of Washington, Seattle, WA (1979)
Dissertation: The Mytilus californianus community: Studies on the composition, structure, organization and dynamics of a mussel bed.
M.A. - (Ecology and Evolution) Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (1972)
Dissertation: The effects of thermal elevation on marine phytoplanktonic primary production.
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B.S. - (Biology) University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (1969)
CAREER POSITIONS
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CURRENT POSITIONS:
• Scientist Emeritus: Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, U.C. Davis, Davis, CA
(2001-present)
• Scientist Emeritus: U.C. Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega Bay, CA (1983-present)
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FORMER POSITIONS:
• Scientist Emeritus: US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Sacramento, CA
(2014-2018)
• Lead Scientist, Research Manager & Climate Change Coordinator: US Geological Survey -
Western Ecological Research Center (2008-2014)
• Climate Science Coordinator: US Geological Survey, Southwest Climate Science Center, Tucson, AZ (2012-2014)
• Research Ecologist/Assoc: Dept. of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, U.C. Davis (2001-present)
• Director: Environmental Contaminants Division: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Sacramento (2002-2004)
• Deputy Director: Environmental Contaminants Division: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Sacramento (2001-2002)
• Chief: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Branch: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Sacramento (2001-2004)
• Research Ecologist: Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, and the Bodega Marine Laboratory,
University of California, Davis (1998-2001)
• Director: U.C. Davis - Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC: 1997-2001)
• Research Ecologist: Department of Environmental Science and Policy, and the Bodega Marine Laboratory,
University of California, Davis (1996 to 1998)
• Director: Western Regional Center - National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC),
A Department of Energy sponsored program: [located at U.C. Davis] (1994 to 2001)
• Associate Research Ecologist: Division of Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis (1990-1996)
• Assistant Research Ecologist: Division of Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis (1986-1990)
• Visiting Lecturer: Division of Natural Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California -
@ Bodega Marine Laboratory (Spring 1986)
• President and CEO: Tropical Marine Expedition Society (1986-1989)
• Visiting Assistant Professor: Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, Washington.
(Summer: 1983)
• Visiting Lecturer: Division of Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis, California (1983-1992)
• Acting Assistant Professor: Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
(Summers: 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989)
• Visiting Assistant Professor: West Indies Laboratory, Fairleigh Dickinson University, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin
Islands, (1980-1981)
• Post-Doctoral Research Associate and Instructor: West Indies Laboratory, Fairleigh Dickinson University,
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. (1979-1980)
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​ SERVICE
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• Action Coordination Team: West Coast Governors’ Council on Ocean Health: (2009-2014)
• Peer Review Committee Chair: USGS-Wide Fundamental Science Practices Advisory Committee: (2008-2013)
• UC Davis Lead Campus Co-Director: CALSPACE Educational Outreach Committee (1998-2001)
• UC Davis Campus Co-Director for SPACEGRANT: (1998-2001)
• Bodega Marine Laboratory Advisory Committee - UC Davis: (1992-1996)
• UC Davis Ecotoxicology Program: (1991-2001)
• UC Davis Graduate Group in Ecology: (1991-2001)
• National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council): Science & Litigation Group
Committee to evaluate conflicts between litigation secrecy practices and scientific inquiry in health and
ecological damage cases. (1991-1993)
• Treasurer: Western Society of Naturalists: (1990-1994)
• University of California Natural Reserve System Advisory Committee: (1988-1998)
Committee representative for the Division of Environmental Studies, U.C. Davis
• American Society of Zoologists: Committee on Public Affairs (1987-1989)
• Environmental Policy Institute: Washington D.C. (1987)
Committee to evaluate the impact of the United States Coastal Exclusive Economic Zone on coastal resources.
• Marine Researchers in Northern California - (Coordinated four annual research conferences) 1986/87/88/90:
• NOAA's Program for Ocean Technology Development (1986) -
Committee to implement NOAA's West Coast Undersea Research Program
• Secretary & Board of Directors Member: Virgin Islands Conservation Society: (1979-1981)
• University of Washington Diving Safety Board: (1974-1978)
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FIELD RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
TEMPERATE AND BOREAL ENVIRONMENTS:
• Russia (Commander Islands) - 2006
• Great Britain - 1994
• Mediterranean Sea - 1987
• West Coast U.S. (Washington, California, Oregon, Baja) - 1972 to present
• Alaska (multiple locations) - 1976 - 1997, 1989 - 1993
• South America (Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil) - 1975
• East Coast U.S. (New England) - 1965 to 1972
TROPICAL ENVIRONMENTS:
• Palmyra Atoll - 2007
• Red Sea: Israel, Egypt - 1987
• Papua New Guinea - 1985
• French Polynesia (Tahiti, Moorea) - 1985
• Fiji - 1985
• Micronesia (Enewetak and Kwajalein Atolls) - 1981, 1982
• Hawaii - 1981, 1982, 1985
• Guam, Philippines - 1981
• Jamaica - 1980
• U.S. and British Virgin Islands - 1979 - 1982
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - 1975
• Panama - 1975
• Bahamas - 1969
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
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• Lecturer: Department of Environmental Science & Policy, UC Davis: 1983 to 1992
• Principles of Ecology - 4 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Oceanography - 4 credit-hours (Upper Division)
• The Oceans: Conflicts Over Ocean Resource Use: - 2 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Biological Oceanography - 3 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Quantitative Field Ecology - 6 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Visiting Lecturer: UC Santa Cruz @ Bodega Marine Laboratory: 1986
• Problems in Marine Biology - 15 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Acting Assistant Professor: Department of Zoology, University of Washington: Summers 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989
• Natural History of Marine Invertebrates - 6 credit-hours (Upper Division)
• Visiting Assistant Professor: University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories: Summer 1983
• Invertebrate Zoology - 9 credit-hours (Upper Division)
• Visiting Assistant Professor: - (West Indies Laboratory, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands): 1980-1982
• Marine Ecology - 4 credit-hours (Lower/Upper Division)
• Biology of Tropical Marine Invertebrates - 4 credit-hours (Lower Division)
• Special Topics in Tropical Field Ecology - 3 credit-hours (Upper Division)
• Instructor: West Indies Laboratory, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: Summers 1979, 1980
• Ecology of Coral Reef Communities - 6 credit-hours (Upper Division)
• Ph.D. Advisor: Served on many Ph.D. thesis committees since 1980
• UC Davis, U.C. San Diego and University of New Hampshire)
• Advisor: Undergraduate independent research project advising: 1975 to 1979.
• (Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle and West Indies Laboratory, St. Croix,
U.S. Virgin Islands)
• Teaching Assistant: 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
• (Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle; and Department of Ecology and Evolution,
Stony Brook University). Courses included: Introductory Biology, Principles of Ecology, Natural History of
Marine Invertebrates, Invertebrate Zoology, and Field and Theoretical Ecology.
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GRADUATE STUDENTS & POST-DOCS MENTORED
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• Benet Duncan: Post-Doctoral Fellow, NOAA/USGS, 2014
Post-doctoral Study/Product: A Monitoring Inventory and Plan for Tracking Climate Change in the North-central California Coast and Ocean Region.
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• Collin Eagles-Smith: Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 2006
Dissertation: Mercury in fish: Food web structure, trophic transfer, and bioaccumulation in two California lakes.
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• James Haas: Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 2004
Dissertation: Legacy of mining, mercury distribution and effects on aquatic biota in the Guadalupe River, Santa Clara County, California.
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• Lee Ann Woodward: Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 1999
Dissertation: Assessment of sublethal mercury stress in a contaminated lake: Clear Lake, Lake County, California.
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• Edward Gilmartin: M.S., U.C. Davis, 1998
Dissertation: Effects of copper-methyl mercury mixtures on two cladocerans, Daphnia pulex and Ceriodaphnia dubia: Toxicity and bioconcentration.
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• Bruce Follansbee, Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 1996
Dissertation: Wetland restoration at Clear Lake, California: Species selection, phophorus monitoring, and coordinated resources management planning.
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• George Arthur Trevelyan: Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 1991
Dissertation: Aquacultural Ecology of Hatchery-Produced Juvenile Bay Mussels, Mytilus edulis L.
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• Roger Helm: Ph.D., U.C. Davis, 1990
Dissertation: Population dynamics of an intertidal eel blenny, Cebidichthys violaceus: diet, growth, homing, and avian predation.
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HONOR
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While documenting the diverse community of organisms associated with Mytilus californianus mussel beds (see Research Focus Areas section), Tom discovered a new species of amphipod crustacean. This new species was subsequently named in his honor as Paramoera suchaneki (by C.P. Staude, 1983). [Published Reference: Staude, C.P. 1995. AmphiPacifica 1(4):61-102]
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