Michael D. Behrens

Biology Department

Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, WA 98447-0003

253.535.7565 (ph.) 253.536.5055 (fax)

behrenmd@plu.edu

http://www.plu.edu/~behrenmd

Education:

Ph.D. (2005) University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. Advisors: Dr. Kevin Lafferty and Dr. Steve Gaines. Dissertation title: Evidence for physiological drivers of herbivorous fish diversity.

Certificate in College and University Teaching. (2005) University of California, Santa Barbara

M.A. (2003) University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. Advisors: Dr. Kevin Lafferty and Dr. Steve Gaines.

B.Sc. (1996) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Department of Biology. Biological Sciences; Concentration in Fisheries and Marine Biology.

Teaching Experience:

2005 - Present Visiting Assistant Professor, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA.

BIOL 323: Principles of Biology III: Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity

BIOL 425: Biological Oceanography

BIOL 475: Evolution

2005 Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara.

EEMB 116: Invertebrate Zoology: Higher Invertebrates. (Spring and Summer Quarters)

2004 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara.

EEMB 112: Invertebrate Zoology

EEMB 116: Invertebrate Zoology: Higher Invertebrates.

EEMB/ENVS 133: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

2003 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara..

EEMB 120: General Ecology.

2000 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara..

EEMB 106: Biology of Fishes

Research Experience:

2005 - Present Visiting Assistant Professor, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA. Research projects studying freshwater fish biogeography and latitudinal variation in diet of marine intertidal fishes.

2000 – 2005 Doctoral Student, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara. The latitudinal diversity gradient in herbivorous fishes: temperature effects on digestive physiology. Advisors: Dr. Kevin Lafferty and Dr. Steve Gaines.

2000 – 2004 Graduate Student Researcher, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara. Studied ecology of the endangered white abalone (Haliotis sorensoni), kelp forest – barrens dynamics and the effects of marine reserves, and the population status of the endangered tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberyii).

1995 – 2001 Volunteer Field Biologist, Minerals Management Service. Assisted in establishing and monitoring of permanent sampling stations to determine the diversity and abundance of selected groups of intertidal algae and invertebrates.

1993 - 2000 Staff Marine Biologist, TENERA, Inc., Avila Beach, California. Primary responsibilities included collecting community composition and species abundance information on intertidal and subtidal algae, fish and invertebrates, as well as collecting and processing larval fish from ichthyoplankton samples related to Diablo Canyon Power Plant 316(b) intake structure entrainment study. Other responsibilities included collecting subtidal radiation monitoring samples; conducting grunion-spawning surveys; collecting data on introduced species, collecting data for endangered species monitoring, and database management.

1997 Volunteer Field Biologist, U.S.G.S / University of Washington. Assisted principal researchers of the Nearshore Vertebrate Predator Project in station set-up and sampling for assessing larval recruitment dynamics of bivalve populations and also assisted in a tagging study of sea otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

1995 - 1996 Volunteer Field Biologist, Bodega Marine Lab, Bodega Bay, California. Participated in surveys designed to determine the population of the introduced green crab, Carcinus maenus, in the Morro Bay estuary. Responsibilities included target specimen trapping and bycatch identification.

1991 - 1992 Student Assistant, Bay Foundation, Morro Bay, California. Participated in a study to monitor sedimentation in both the Los Osos and Chorro Creek watersheds, sub-watersheds of the Morro Bay National Estuary. Responsibilities included collection and processing of sediment samples to determine particle-settling rates.

Informal Teaching Activities:

Present Research Mentor, Pacific Lutheran University. Supervised undergraduate students in two separate research projects, on freshwater fish biogeography and latitudinal variation in diet of marine intertidal fishes, including experimental design, conducting research and manuscript preparation for publication.

2004 – 2005 Research Mentor, University of California, Santa Barbara. Supervised advanced undergraduate students in two separate research projects, on fish biogeography and urchin disease, including experimental design, conducting research and manuscript preparation for publication.

2004 Guest Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara. EEMB/ENVS 133: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology. Topics: Environmental ethics in conservation biology, Managing protected areas, and Restoration ecology. EEMB 112: Invertebrate Zoology. Topic: Opisthobranch and Pulmonate biology.

2002 – 2004 Research Mentor, Research Mentorship Program, University of California, Santa Barbara. Acted as a mentor for advanced high school students performing research at UCSB. Student projects included biogeography of Northeastern Pacific fishes, hindgut fermentation in herbivorous fishes, and diet and temperature effects on herbivorous fish nutritional condition.

2003 Guest Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara. EEMB 173: Global Ecology. Topic: Biogeography of herbivory.

1997 Lab Assistant, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Bio 325: Marine Biology. Assisted with laboratory sections and field trips.

Department and University Service:

2006 - 2007 Faculty Advisor, PLU Biology Club

2006 - 2007 Member, PLU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Spring 2006 Facilitator, “Reconciling biblical text and the theory of evolution” PLU residence halls

2005-2006 Member, Alumni Survey Subcommittee, PLU Biology Self Study

Community Service:

2005 – Present Advisor / Volunteer, Harbor WildWatch Environmental Education

2003 – 2005 Research Representative, Sanctuary Education Team, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Organizations and Professional Memberships:

The International Biogeography Society

Western Society of Naturalists

Beta Beta Beta, National Biological Honor Society; Epsilon Pi Chapter, San Luis Obispo, CA. 1994-1996

College Council Representative, 1995-1996.

Research Support:

Summer 2006 Murdock/Natural Sciences Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship

Awards and Scholarships:

Fletcher Jones Fellowship, 2004-2005 ($15,000)

UC Marine Council, Graduate Fellowship, 2001-2003 ($50,000)

Outstanding Graduating Biological Sciences Senior, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 1996 (Awarded to three graduates each year).

Marine Biology Scholarship, 1992-1993.

Supervision of Research Students:

Summer 2006 Rebecca Gooding and Amy Podurgiel

2004 - 2005 Katherine Kunkel and Elizabeth Tobin

Publications:

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Floeter, S.R., M.D. Behrens, C.E.L. Ferreira, M.J. Paddack, & M.H. Horn (2005) Geographical gradients of marine herbivorous fishes: patterns and processes. Marine Biology 147:1435-1447

Behrens MD, Lafferty KD (2005) Size frequency measures of white abalone, implication for conservation. In: Garcelon DK, Schwemm CA (eds) Sixth California Islands Symposium. Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ventura, CA, p 427-432.

Lafferty, K. D. and M. D. Behrens (2005). Temporal variation in the state of rocky reefs: does fishing increase the vulnerability of kelp forests to disturbance? In: Garcelon DK, Schwemm CA (eds) Sixth California Islands Symposium. Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ventura, CA, p 511-520.

Behrens, M.D. & K.D. Lafferty (2004) Effects of marine reserves and urchin disease on southern California rocky reef communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 279:129-139.

Lafferty K.D., M.D. Behrens, G.E. Davis, P.L. Haaker, D. Kushner, D.V. Richards, I.K. Taniguchi & M.J. Tegner (2004). Habitat of endangered white abalone, Haliotis sorenseni. Biological Conservation 116: 191-194.

Wicksten, M.K. & M.D. Behrens (2000). New Record of the Pelagic Crab Planes cyaneus in California (Brachyura: Grapsidae). SCAMIT newsletter 19(5): 7.

Manuscripts In review

Behrens, M.D. & K.D. Lafferty (In review) Diet changes in herbivorous fish: effects of habitat, relative gut length and temperature. Marine Biology.

Behrens, M.D. & K.D. Lafferty (In review) Temperature and diet effects on herbivorous fish performance: implications for diversity patterns. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Lester, S.L., E.D. Tobin & M.D. Behrens (In review) Disease dynamics in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Manuscripts In Preparation

Behrens, M.D. & K.D. Lafferty (In prep) Temperature and substrate effects on fermentation by herbivorous fishes intestinal microflora: implications for herbivorous fish diversity patterns. Journal of Fish Biology.

Behrens M.D. & K.F. Smith (In prep) Beyond diversity and geographic range size: surveying biogeographic patterns of range boundaries and trophic level among Northeast Pacific fishes. Diversity and Distributions.

Smith, K.F., Behrens, M.D., Max, L., Daszak, P., & Schloegel, L.M. Global trade in marine and freshwater fishes: implications for public health and conservation. Conservation Biology.

Presentations at Scientific Meetings

Behrens, M.D.* & R.A. Gooding. 2006. Geographic patterns of diversity in freshwater herbivorous fishes: latitude, altitude and temperature effects. Western Society of Naturalists. Redmond, WA.

Behrens, D.W.*, J.S. Steinbeck, M.D. Behrens & J. Goddard. 2006. Opisthobranch Mollusks from Diablo Canyon, California: a 25 year, quantitative record. Joint Meeting of the American Malacological Society and Western Society of Malacologists. Seattle, WA.

Gooding, R.A.*, A.M. Podurgiel & M.D. Behrens. 2006. Patterns of species richness in herbivorous freshwater fishes: effects of latitude, altitude and temperature. 15th Regional Conference on Undergraduate Research of the Murdock College Science Research Program. Portland, OR.

Gooding, R.A.*, A.M. Podurgiel & M.D. Behrens. 2006. Variation in diet, gut morphology, and resource partitioning in three prickleback fishes across a geographic gradient. Western Society of Naturalists. Redmond, WA.

Podurgiel, A.M.*, R.A. Gooding & M.D. Behrens. 2006. Geographic variation in diet and gut morphology in three prickleback fishes. 15th Regional Conference on Undergraduate Research of the Murdock College Science Research Program. Portland, OR.

Behrens, M. D.* 2005. Temperature and diet effects on nutritional condition in herbivorous fish. EEMB Graduate Student Symposium. Santa Barbara, CA.

Behrens, M.D. & K.D. Lafferty* 2004. The effect of temperature and substrate on fermentation rates of herbivorous fish intestinal microflora: implications for the latitudinal diversity gradient in herbivorous fishes. Western Society of Naturalists. Rohnert Park, CA.

Floeter, S.R.*, M.D. Behrens, C.E.L. Ferreira, M.J. Paddack, & M.H. Horn 2004. Geographical gradients of marine herbivorous fishes. 10^th International Coral Reefs Symposium. Okinawa, Japan.

Behrens, M. D.* 2003. Kelp Forest – Barrens Dichotomy: Multivariate Description, Community Patterns, and the Effects of Marine Reserves and Urchin Disease. SBC-LTER Review. Santa Barbara, CA.

Behrens, M.D.* & K.D. Lafferty 2003. Size frequency measures of white abalone, implication for conservation. 6^th California Islands Symposium. Ventura, CA

Behrens, M. D*. & K. D. Lafferty 2003. The kelp forest barrens dichotomy: multivariate description, community patterns, and the effects of reserves. International Temperate Reefs Symposium. Christchurch, NZ.

Behrens, M.D.* & K.F. Smith 2003. Beyond diversity and geographic range size: surveying biogeographic patterns of body size, range boundaries, and trophic level among Northeast Pacific fishes. Western Society of Naturalists. Long Beach, CA.

Lafferty, K.D. & M.D. Behrens* 2003 Temporal variation in the state of rocky reefs: does fishing increase the vulnerability of kelp forests to disturbance? 6^th California Islands Symposium. Ventura, CA.

Smith, K.F.* and M.D. Behrens. 2003. Biogeography of marine fishes: a preliminary survey of the Northeast Pacific. International Biogeography Society. Mesquite, NV.

Behrens, M. D.* & K. D. Lafferty 2002. Feeding ecology of the opaleye (Girella nigricans): comparison to past studies and the effects of habitat, body size, and temperature. Western Society of Naturalists. Monterey, CA. (Session Chair)

Behrens, M. D.* & K. D. Lafferty 2001. The kelp forest barrens dichotomy: multivariate description, community patterns, and the effects of reserves. Western Society of Naturalists. Ventura, CA. (Session Chair)

Invited Lectures

Evolutionary Constraints on Herbivorous Fish Distributions. Pacific Lutheran University. Tacoma, WA. March 2005.

The Effects of Marine Reserves on Nearshore Rocky Communities: The Anacapa Island Reserve. CINMS, Sanctuary Education Team. Santa Barbara, CA. May 2002.

Conserving Marine Communities in the California Channel Islands. USGS Menlo Park, CA. Aug. 2001.

An Introduced Species of Sea Slug in Morro Bay and Its Native Relatives. Central Coast Biological Society, Quarterly Meeting. San Luis Obispo, CA. April 1999.

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