

The Expedition Background Personnel Conservation Support

PERSONNEL

Sheila Walsh

Sheila is a Ph.D. candidate at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Her research interests are the ecology and economics of coastal human-environment systems. She has done research on marine reserve design, incorporating knowledge of coral-zooxanthellae distributions, the trade-off between land development and coral ecosystem services in Belize, and currently on the relationship between ecosystem health and human welfare in the Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific. Sheila got her B.S. with honors from Stanford University, where she studied adaptation to climate variability in alpine butterflies. She developed an interest in coastal human-environment systems while working and researching on a fishing boat in New Zealand. Sheila gained first-hand experience with conservation as a contract coral reef researcher for World Wildlife Fund in Belize. She is actively involved in the field of ecological economics as a teaching assistant for the UCSD Economics Department and as a visiting researcher at the Beijer International Institute for Ecological Economics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Mary Donovan

Mary Donovan is a Marine Biology major at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Mary has become an expert diver and fish biologist as a Research Technician for PISCO, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Ecosystems. Mary has been part of long-term surveys of fish and benthic communities of the Central California Coast. She has complimented her field expertise by assisting SIO and UCSB researchers with laboratory studies looking at the growth rates of fish under high and low predator conditions in the Line Islands, Kiribati. Mary's knowledge of fish has allowed her to play an important role in assisting Professor Bob Warner give his fish ecology course at UCSB.

Marah Hardt

Marah Hardt is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Marah's dissertation has explored the importance of expanding both the spatial and temporal scales over which we study ecosystems. Marah uncovered the history of Jamaican coral reefs to show a rich and diverse ecosystem that all but vanished in our life time. Her historical perspective, coming from having a B.A. in History of Science from Harvard, is important for setting relevant conservation goals. Marah compared the current health of coral reefs in Jamaica to other reefs under varying levels of fishing pressure across the Caribbean. She showed that with less fish controlling the ecosystem the coral reef structure becomes a less predictable and unfamiliar seascape. Marah has led numerous expeditions in the Caribbean and has a deep knowledge of coral reef ecosystems. She is also an exceptional free diver and conservation writer.

Eddie Kisfaludy

Eddie Kisfaludy is the Marine Biology Collector at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Eddie is a true naturalist and water man. His combination of talents allow him to play a unique role in the science at SIO. At home, he runs the experimental aquarium, facilitates local collections, and runs the small boats operations. In the field, he manages the complex, safety-oriented operations that expeditions entail. Eddie has been critical to the success of numerous marine science studies because of his experience and continuing diligence. Most recently Eddie has worked on projects in Belize, the Line Islands, France, Hawaii, Grand Cayman, India, Australia, Baja California, and California.