GARZA LAB | MARINE LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY

University of Washington

The Garza Lab focuses on how oceanographic conditions, such as temperature shifts driven by El Niño and La Niña, and the behavior of pinnipeds, the primary prey for white sharks, influence the sharks' movements along the California coast. By mapping pinniped populations and analyzing coastal habitats, the lab seeks to understand seasonal and environmental patterns that affect the distribution of both predators and prey. Their work incorporates the use of autonomous to collect high-resolution images, that support the tracking of seasonal variation in pinniped abundance, and how that may affect the presence of white sharks in specific areas. The insight provided by drones supports a deeper understanding of the ecological dynamics at play between ocean conditions, marine mammals, and apex predators.

You can follow the Garza lab and all their activities on their Instagram feed @uw_mlel or learn more by visiting their lab's website.

Research Publications

Saccomanno, V. R. (2023). Using unoccupied aerial vehicles to map and monitor changes in emergent kelp canopy after an ecological regime shift. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. Wiley Online Library. https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.295

Current Landscape Ecology Reports. (2019). Landscape Ecology in the Rocky Intertidal: Opportunities for Advancing Discovery and Innovation in Intertidal Research. Current Landscape Ecology Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40823-019-00042-8

Current Landscape Ecology Reports. (2016). Landscape Complexity Effects on Fisheries: Insights from Marine Landscape Ecology. Current Landscape Ecology Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40823-016-0003-z

Journal of Mammalogy. (2015). Effects of landscape covariates on the distribution and detection probabilities of mammalian carnivores. Journal of Mammalogy. Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv056

MONTEREY BAY WHITE SHARKS

GARZA LAB | MARINE LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY

Research Publications

MONTEREY BAY
WHITE SHARKS