Steven
S. Rumrill
Research
Scientist and Program Coordinator: South Slough National Estuarine
Research Reserve
Assistant Professor of Biology (Adjunct): University of Oregon
/ Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
Graduate Faculty in Marine Reseorce Management: Oregon State
University / College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
Research
Interests:
My primary research interests lie in the interdisciplinary links
between invertebrate reproductive biology, life-history ecology,
and ecosystem functions in the marine and estuarine environments.
Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to work with diverse
groups of organisms (primarily echinoderms, molluscs, and crustaceans)
in a variety of habitats including the rocky intertidal zone
and subtidal kelp beds of central and southern California, the
rugged west coast and deep water fjords of Vancouver Island,
the protected seagrass beds of Florida’s Indian River
Lagoon, the rocky coast of New England, the nearshore Pacific
Ocean waters above the continental shelf, and within several
semi-enclosed estuaries in Oregon, California, and Washington.
These habitats provide a fertile testing ground for observations
and field experiments that seek to explain the ecological mechanisms
that give rise to patterns of organismal distribution and abundance.
Pacific northwest estuaries are diverse and distinct ecosystems
that exist at the nexus between the nearshore ocean and coastal
watersheds. Conflicting resource demands pose interesting problems
for the sustained health of estuarine ecosystems, and the solutions
most commonly lie at the interface between physics, ecology,
and the social sciences. My current research projects focus
on the natural history and ecology of estuaries located along
the coasts of Oregon and northern California. These research
topic include: (1) Physical and Biotic Links between Estuaries
and the Nearshore Pacific Ocean, (2) Ecology of Marine and Estuarine
Invertebrate Larvae, (3) Community Ecology of Eelgrass meadows
(Zostera marina), (4) Ecological Impacts of Commercial Oyster
Aquaculture in Tideflat Communities, (5) Coastal Climate Change
and Variability in Estuarine Tidal Forcing, (6) Detection, Spread
and Consequences of Aquatic Non-Indigenous Species in Estuaries,
(7) Restoration of Lost and Degraded Estuarine Habitats, and
(8) Marine Conservation and Improved Coastal Management.
