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
Dermal denticle shedding rates vary between two captive shark species
Transforming Palmyra Atoll to native-tree dominance will increase net carbon storage and reduce dissolved organic carbon reef runoff
Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance
Schistosome infection in Senegal is associated with different spatial extents of risk and ecological drivers for Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni
Global tropical reef fish richness could decline by around half if corals are lost
Transient disease dynamics across ecological scales
A food web including parasites for kelp forests of the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Causes of delayed outbreak responses and their impacts on epidemic spread
Broadening the ecology of fear: Non-lethal effects arise from diverse responses to predation and parasitism
Improving the ability of a BACI design to detect impacts within a kelp‐forest community
Visualization of schistosomiasis snail habitats using light unmanned aerial vehicles
How to identify win–win interventions that benefit human health and conservation
Science and Products
Dermal denticle shedding rates vary between two captive shark species
Transforming Palmyra Atoll to native-tree dominance will increase net carbon storage and reduce dissolved organic carbon reef runoff
Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance
Schistosome infection in Senegal is associated with different spatial extents of risk and ecological drivers for Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni
Global tropical reef fish richness could decline by around half if corals are lost
Transient disease dynamics across ecological scales
A food web including parasites for kelp forests of the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Causes of delayed outbreak responses and their impacts on epidemic spread
Broadening the ecology of fear: Non-lethal effects arise from diverse responses to predation and parasitism
Improving the ability of a BACI design to detect impacts within a kelp‐forest community
Visualization of schistosomiasis snail habitats using light unmanned aerial vehicles
How to identify win–win interventions that benefit human health and conservation
*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