Joseph Tomoleoni
Joe is a USGS biologist that is broadly interested in the ecology of coastal marine communities, particularly the influences of vertebrate predators on community structure.
Most of his field research has focused on sea otter populations around the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. His past and current study sites focus mostly on Central and Southern California (including the Channel Islands), but also include many other locations around the Northeast Pacific like the Aleutian Islands, Southeast and Southcentral Alaska, and Washington. These studies are designed to better understand the suite of direct and indirect interactions between sea otters and other species in the nearshore environment. Joe and his colleagues use this model system to elucidate the influence of high-trophic-level consumers on the organization of the communities in which they live. Their research questions aim to investigate various aspects of sea otter behavioral ecology including: foraging trends, activity budgets, movement patterns, survival, and reproduction. The information gathered from their research helps to obtain a better understanding of sea otter biology, which, through species interactions with biotic and abiotic factors in their environment, advances our knowledge base for entire nearshore marine ecosystems.
In addition to sea otter population studies, Joe's fieldwork also includes intertidal and subtidal surveys of nearshore communities, as well as dive work to capture and tag sea otters and collect data or samples that help us better understand the link between otters, kelp forests, estuaries, and people. Joe and his USGS colleagues are also the lead agency conducting the annual sea otter census in California, which monitors population change and distribution over time. Joe also serves on the USGS National Dive Safety Board as the Southwest Region Dive Safety Officer.
Education and Certifications
EDUCATION
MS, Marine Affairs & Policy/Marine Biology & Fisheries, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science (FL), 2007
BS, Marine Biology, University of Miami
Science and Products
Robust age estimation of southern sea otters from multiple morphometrics
Locality note for rubber boa
Emergence of a zoonotic pathogen in a coastal marine sentinel: Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum)-associated hepatitis in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Spatial epidemiological patterns suggest mechanisms of land-sea transmission for Sarcocystis neurona in a coastal marine mammal
Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report
Species recovery and recolonization of past habitats: Lessons for science and conservation from sea otters in estuaries
California sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, spring 2019
Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population biology at Big Sur and Monterey, California --Investigating the consequences of resource abundance and anthropogenic stressors for sea otter recovery
California sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, spring 2018
Southern sea otter range expansion and habitat use in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
Trade-offs between energy maximization and parental care in a central place forager, the sea otter
The value of closed-circuit rebreathers for biological research
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Filter Total Items: 24
Robust age estimation of southern sea otters from multiple morphometrics
Reliable age estimation is an essential tool to assess the status of wildlife populations and inform successful management. Aging methods, however, are often limited by too few data, skewed demographic representation, and by single or uncertain morphometric relationships. In this study, we synthesize age estimates in southern sea otters Enhydra lutris nereis from 761 individuals across 34 years ofAuthorsTeri E. Nicholson, Karl A. Mayer, Michelle M. Staedler, Tyler O Gagne, Michael J. Murray, Marissa A Young, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, M. Tim Tinker, Kyle S. Van HoutanLocality note for rubber boa
CHARINA BOTTAE BOTTAE (N. Rubber Boa), USA: CALIFORNIA: Monterey Co.: Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve, east side of Hwy. 1, 80 km (50 miles) south of Carmel, Calif., (36.0719055 N 121.5991555 W) 19 June, 2009; (36.0703611 N 121.5982222 W) 06 July 2009; (36.9516666 N 121.5991944 W) 27 July 2009. In chronological order, photo vouchers MVZObs:Herp:26, MVZObs:Herp:27, MVZObs:Herp:28. Verified byAuthorsJoseph A. Tomoleoni, Richard F HoyerEmergence of a zoonotic pathogen in a coastal marine sentinel: Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum)-associated hepatitis in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Capillaria hepatica is a globally distributed zoonotic nematode parasite that most commonly infects feral and native rats. Soil contact, pica, and living in close proximity to rat populations are risk factors for human infection. Larval nematodes and eggs that were morphologically consistent with C. hepatica were observed microscopically in livers of stranded southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris neAuthorsMelissa A. Miller, Padraig J Duignan, Erin Dodd, Francesca Batac, Michelle M. Staedler, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Michael J. Murray, Heather Harris, Chris GardinerSpatial epidemiological patterns suggest mechanisms of land-sea transmission for Sarcocystis neurona in a coastal marine mammal
Sarcocystis neurona was recognised as an important cause of mortality in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) after an outbreak in April 2004 and has since been detected in many marine mammal species in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Risk of S. neurona exposure in sea otters is associated with consumption of clams and soft-sediment prey and is temporally associated with runoff events. We examAuthorsTristan Burgess, M. Tim Tinker, Melissa A. Miller, Woutrina A. Smith, James L. Bodkin, Michael J. Murray, Linda M. Nichol, Justin A. Saarinen, Shawn E. Larson, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Patricia A. Conrad, Christine K. JohnsonKelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report
To assess and track changes to the rocky subtidal communities surrounding San Nicolas Island, the U.S. Navy entered into an agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2014 to conduct an ecological monitoring program at several sites around the island. Four permanent sites—Nav Fac 100, West End, Dutch Harbor, and Daytona 100—were established. The sites were based on ones that had been moniAuthorsMichael C. Kenner, Joseph A. TomoleoniSpecies recovery and recolonization of past habitats: Lessons for science and conservation from sea otters in estuaries
Recovering species are often limited to much smaller areas than they historically occupied. Conservation planning for the recovering species is often based on this limited range, which may simply be an artifact of where the surviving population persisted. Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) were hunted nearly to extinction but recovered from a small remnant population on a remote stretch oAuthorsBrent B. Hughes, Kerstin Wasson, M. Tim Tinker, Susan L Williams, Lilian P. Carswell, Katharyn E. Boyer, Michael W. Beck, Ron Eby, Robert Scoles, Michelle M. Staedler, Sarah Espinosa, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Erin U. Foster, Kathryn Beheshti, Tracy M Grimes, Benjamin H. Becker, Lisa Needles, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Jane Rudebusch, Ellen Marie Hines, Brian R SillimanCalifornia sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, spring 2019
The 2019 census of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as California sea otters, was conducted from early May to early July along the mainland coast of central California and in April at San Nicolas Island in southern California. The range-wide index, defined as the 3-year average of combined counts from the mainland range and San Nicolas Island, was 2,962, a decrease of 166 seAuthorsBrian B. Hatfield, Julie L. Yee, Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. TomoleoniSouthern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population biology at Big Sur and Monterey, California --Investigating the consequences of resource abundance and anthropogenic stressors for sea otter recovery
The range of the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) spans most of the central California coast from Half Moon Bay to Gaviota. Some coastal areas within this range are heavily developed and highly impacted by humans, while other areas are wild and largely pristine. Determining the relative importance of food resource abundance, environmental conditions, and anthropogenic increases in pathogAuthorsM. Tim Tinker, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Benjamin P. Weitzman, Michelle Staedler, Dave Jessup, Michael J. Murray, Melissa Miller, Tristan Burgess, Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, Nicole Thometz, Lily Tarjan, Emily Golson, Francesca Batac, Erin Dodd, Eva Berberich, Jessica Kunz, Gena Bentall, Jessica Fujii, Teri Nicholson, Seth Newsome, Ann Melli, Nicole LaRoche, Holly MacCormick, Andy Johnson, Laird Henkel, Chris Kreuder-Johnson, Pat ConradCalifornia sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, spring 2018
The 2018 census of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) was conducted from late April to mid-May along the mainland coast of central California and in April at San Nicolas Island in southern California. The 3-year average of combined counts from the mainland range and San Nicolas Island was 3,128, a decrease of 58 sea otters from the previous year. The 5-year average trend in abundance, incAuthorsBrian B. Hatfield, Julie L. Yee, Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, M. Tim TinkerSouthern sea otter range expansion and habitat use in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
The re-colonization of the Santa Barbara channel by sea otters brings these ESA-listed marine mammals closer to active oil and gas production facilities, shipping lanes and naturally occurring oil and gas seeps. However, the degree to which sea otters may actually be affected by human-caused oil spills or exposure to natural oil seeps is currently unknown. Between 2012 and 2014, the U.S. GeologicaAuthorsM. Tim Tinker, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Nicole LaRoche, Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, Mike Murray, Michelle Staedler, Zachary RandellTrade-offs between energy maximization and parental care in a central place forager, the sea otter
Between 1999 and 2014, 126 archival time–depth recorders (TDRs) were used to examine the foraging behavior of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) off the coast of California, in both resource-abundant (recently occupied, low sea otter density) and resource-limited (long-occupied, high sea otter density) locations. Following predictions of foraging theory, sea otters generally behaved as enAuthorsN M Thometz, M. M. Staedler, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, James L. Bodkin, G.B. Bentall, M. Tim TinkerThe value of closed-circuit rebreathers for biological research
Closed-circuit rebreathers have been used for underwater biological research since the late 1960s, but have only started to gain broader application within scientific diving organizations within the past two decades. Rebreathers offer certain specific advantages for such research, especially for research involving behavior and surveys that depend on unobtrusive observers or for a stealthy approachAuthorsRichrad L. Pyle, Phillip S. Lobel, Joseph A. Tomoleoni - News