Speaker: Carlos Robles
Recent atmospheric heat waves in the Pacific Northwest brought devastating mortality to shellfish populations of the region. These widely publicized heat kills are understood as the driver of permanent declines in intertidal beds of mussels and other invertebrates on shores of the Salish Sea. Historical photographic records from Southern California show a similar collapse of mussel beds. However, the spatial pattern of losses suggests a different mechanism of decline, and one that could impact species beyond the intertidal zone. The talk will conclude
with an open discussion of possible negative impacts of climate change on shellfish, including some concerns of tribal and state biologists.
Bio:
Carlos Robles is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at California State University, Los Angeles. He has published numerous articles on the ecology of the rocky intertidal zone based on his field studies from the Channel Islands, California, to Vancouver Island, Canada. His work on mussels and their predators in Southern California is featured in an interactive exhibit in the ecology wing of the California Science Center, Exposition Park. In the decade before his retirement, he founded and directed a National Science Foundation sponsored center focusing on environmental biology and hydrology (CEA-CREST). Among his honors and awards are the Western Society of Naturalists Lifetime Achievement Award, the Undergraduate Institution Mentor Award of the Society for the Advancement of Native Americans and Chicanos in Science, and the Cal State LA President’s Distinguished Professor Award. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California s Santa Barbara and Doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives near Battle Point Park with his wife Andrea and dog Emma.