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
Nearly 400 million people are at higher risk of schistosomiasis because dams block the migration of snail-eating river prawns
Human infectious disease burdens decrease with urbanization but not with biodiversity
Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications
Host density increases parasite recruitment but decreases host risk in a snail-trematode system
Molecular analyses reveal high species diversity of trematodes in a sub-Arctic lake
A life cycle database for parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes
The rise and fall of infectious disease in a warmer world
Revisiting Paine’s 1966 sea star removal experiment, the most-cited empirical article in the American Naturalist
Environmental change makes robust ecological networks fragile
Global assessment of schistosomiasis control over the past century shows targeting the snail intermediate host works best
Intraguild predation by shore crabs affects mortality, behavior, growth, and densities of California horn snails
Complementary approaches to diagnosing marine diseases: a union of the modern and the classic
Science and Products
Nearly 400 million people are at higher risk of schistosomiasis because dams block the migration of snail-eating river prawns
Human infectious disease burdens decrease with urbanization but not with biodiversity
Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications
Host density increases parasite recruitment but decreases host risk in a snail-trematode system
Molecular analyses reveal high species diversity of trematodes in a sub-Arctic lake
A life cycle database for parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes
The rise and fall of infectious disease in a warmer world
Revisiting Paine’s 1966 sea star removal experiment, the most-cited empirical article in the American Naturalist
Environmental change makes robust ecological networks fragile
Global assessment of schistosomiasis control over the past century shows targeting the snail intermediate host works best
Intraguild predation by shore crabs affects mortality, behavior, growth, and densities of California horn snails
Complementary approaches to diagnosing marine diseases: a union of the modern and the classic
*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