My research interests are focused within three areas: (1) food web dynamics in coastal habitats, including near shore reefs, salt marshes, and sandy beaches, (2) dynamics and impacts of biological invasions of natural and artificial habitats, and (3) salt marsh restoration. Specific interests include understanding how spatial and temporal variation in sources of production influence the diet and ecological performance of consumers and how food webs may shift in the face of environmental change. I have approached these topics through the use of stable isotope analysis to identify sources of production used by consumers, field population sampling to explore relationships between the dynamics of consumer populations and food availability, and manipulations of food abundance to identify the use of specific food resources by consumers and the processes through which food availability influences consumer populations. I have an on-going interest in how artificial structures affect the distribution, abundance, and dynamics of marine invertebrate and fish populations and whether these structures provide the ecological functions of natural reefs. A particular interest concerns the implications of non-native species on offshore oil platforms for platform decommissioning and the dispersal of these species to natural reefs. I am also interested in wetland restoration and am a contract scientist with the California Coastal Commission on the San Dieguito Lagoon restoration project. This mitigation project provides a unique opportunity to research factors that will influence the success of one of the largest wetland restoration projects in California.