Research in our lab concerns the ecological causes of patterns of biodiversity, and the consequences of variation in diversity for populations, communities and ecosystems. The vast diversity of life forms in the marine environment (many of the animal phyla are exclusively marine, or nearly so) makes it a rewarding system for addressing these sorts of issues. We study organisms from all over the tree of life, including vascular plants, algae (seaweed), bacteria, and a range of invertebrate taxa including corals, hydroids, crabs, echinoderms, polychaetes, ascidians, bryozoans, and gastropods.  The main issues my research has focused on are the effects of species diversity on communities and ecosystems, the ecological consequences of genetic diversity, facilitation and mutualisms, the ecology and evolution of decorator crabs, and biological invasions.  Much of our local field work occurs in the area of Bodega and Tomales Bays, but we work collaboratively elsewhere in California and around the world.