Kevin Lafferty
Dr. Keving Lafferty is a Senior Ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center.
His main interest lies in how parasites affect ecosystems and, in turn, how ecosystems affect parasites. He is also involved in research on the conservation of marine resources, investigating strategies for protecting endangered shorebirds, fish and abalone. He has also assessed the effects of marine reserves.
Dr. Lafferty received his Ph. D. in Ecological Parasitology in 1991 at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and took a post doc with the National Marine Sanctuary and a research position at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is presently a Marine Ecologist for the USGS at the Channel Islands Field Station. As a UCSB adjunct faculty member, the university's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology generously provides for Dr. Lafferty's office and laboratory space in the Marine Lab. He advises graduate students in Marine Ecology, but has no formal teaching assignments.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Conservation biology
- Invasive species ecology
- Nearshore marine ecology
- Parasite ecology
- Wetland ecology
Professional Experience
Marine Ecologist, USGS, Western Ecological Science Center, Jul 1998-Present
Assistant Adj. Prof., UCSB, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, Jul 1998-Present
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB Marine Science Institute, Jun 1996-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCLA, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Jun 1994-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB, Marine Science Institute, Jan 1993-May 1994
Post Doctoral Researcher, National Marine Sanctuaries Program, Jan 1992-Dec 1992
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1991
M.A., Zoology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1988
B.A., Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1985
Affiliations and Memberships*
Amercian Society of Parasitologists
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
California Botanical Society
Ecological Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Natural Areas Association
Western Society of Naturalists
Science and Products
Comparing mechanisms of host manipulation across host and parasite taxa
Variable intertidal temperature explains why disease endangers black abalone
Temporal and spatial variation in bird and human use of beaches in southern California
Digenean metacercariae of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll, Eastern Indo-Pacific
Optimal temperature for malaria transmission is dramatically lower than previously predicted
Biodiversity loss decreases parasite diversity: theory and patterns
More than a meal: integrating non-feeding interactions into food webs
New parasites and predators follow the introduction of two fish species to a subarctic lake: implications for food-web structure and functioning
Shading decreases the abundance of the herbivorous California horn snail, Cerithidea californica
Nematomorph parasites indirectly alter the food web and ecosystem function of streams through behavioural manipulation of their cricket hosts.
How to catch a parasite: Parasite Niche Modeler (PaNic) meets Fishbase
Brain cancer mortality rates increase with Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in France
Science and Products
Comparing mechanisms of host manipulation across host and parasite taxa
Variable intertidal temperature explains why disease endangers black abalone
Temporal and spatial variation in bird and human use of beaches in southern California
Digenean metacercariae of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll, Eastern Indo-Pacific
Optimal temperature for malaria transmission is dramatically lower than previously predicted
Biodiversity loss decreases parasite diversity: theory and patterns
More than a meal: integrating non-feeding interactions into food webs
New parasites and predators follow the introduction of two fish species to a subarctic lake: implications for food-web structure and functioning
Shading decreases the abundance of the herbivorous California horn snail, Cerithidea californica
Nematomorph parasites indirectly alter the food web and ecosystem function of streams through behavioural manipulation of their cricket hosts.
How to catch a parasite: Parasite Niche Modeler (PaNic) meets Fishbase
Brain cancer mortality rates increase with Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in France
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government