About Levi

CURRENT POSITION

Levi collecting data in Maui, HI

Levi is a PhD Student  in the Coral Reef Ecology Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  Here is a link to Levi’s CV. Levi’s current research explores how humans alter key processes & species interactions that affect the health and persistence of habitat-forming species such as corals and seagrasses.  You can view the results of his work (papers & presentations) here.

BACKGROUND

Levi, en route toward his PhD

Levi grew up in San Diego playing in, on and around the ocean.  His delight in fishing and reverence for conservation led him to attain a B.S. in Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology at UC Davis.

Levi seining with Jim Hobbs in Bodega Bay

As a student, Levi worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento, CA, evaluating salmon spawning habitat in rivers and drafting flow recommendations for hydropower projects.  Levi also received  a  fellowship to conduct his own research project on fishes in the seagrass beds of Bodega Bay, CA.

Levi working a salt marsh in San Francisco Bay

Following graduation, Levi accepted a research position at the UCD Bodega Marine Lab where he studied the condition of goby populations in salt marshes bordering San Francisco and Tomales Bays.

Seagrass research in San Diego

Following this experience, Levi moved back to San Diego to attain his M.S. in Biology at San Diego State University under the guidance of Dr. Todd Anderson.  Levi’s master’s thesis focused on the community-wide effects of small predators in seagrass ecosystems.

Otolith showing fluorescent internal tag (left) & daily rings (right)

After completing his M.S., Levi took a summer position in the Otolith Microchemistry Lab at UC Davis. There he processed otoliths (ear bones) of threatened & endangered fishes from the Sacramento River Delta. Using image analysis and laser ablation microchemistry, the lab could assess the age, growth rate, and origin of each fish they analyzed.

Levi collecting data on corals in Maui, HI.

Currently, Levi is pursuing a PhD in Biological Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD) under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Smith.  Levi’s dissertation research explores (1) the abundance, distribution, and functional diversity of large and small invertebrates in Hawaii’s coral reefs and (2) the effects of pollution and fishing on the development of nearshore coral reef communities. 

Levi is also an NSF-IGERT fellow and is working with IGERT students and Drs. Nancy Knowlton and Jeremy Jackson on the “Beyond the Obituaries” project:  an effort to highlight success stories in marine conservation.

HOBBIES

Fishing:

CLICK FOR SLIDESHOW

Movie Making:

Writing:

Click for an example

Surfing:

shralp it up

Basketball:

Talkin' 'bout practice