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
How should environmental stress affect the population dynamics of disease?
Interspecific interactions in trematode communities
Use of acoustic classification of sidescan sonar data for mapping benthic habitat in the Northern Channel Islands, California
Good medicine for conservation biology: The intersection of epidemiology and conservation theory
Trophic strategies, animal diversity and body size
Parasites and marine invasions
Conflict of interest between a nematode and a trematode in an amphipod host: Test of the "sabotage" hypothesis
Fecampia erythrocephala rediscovered: prevalence and distribution of a parasitoid of the European shore crab, Carcinus maenas
Disturbance to wintering western snowy plovers
Birds at a Southern California beach: seasonality, habitat use and disturbance by human activity
Release from parasites as natural enemies: increased performance of a globally introduced marine crab
Food webs including parasites, biomass, body sizes, and life stages for three California/Baja California estuaries
Science and Products
How should environmental stress affect the population dynamics of disease?
Interspecific interactions in trematode communities
Use of acoustic classification of sidescan sonar data for mapping benthic habitat in the Northern Channel Islands, California
Good medicine for conservation biology: The intersection of epidemiology and conservation theory
Trophic strategies, animal diversity and body size
Parasites and marine invasions
Conflict of interest between a nematode and a trematode in an amphipod host: Test of the "sabotage" hypothesis
Fecampia erythrocephala rediscovered: prevalence and distribution of a parasitoid of the European shore crab, Carcinus maenas
Disturbance to wintering western snowy plovers
Birds at a Southern California beach: seasonality, habitat use and disturbance by human activity
Release from parasites as natural enemies: increased performance of a globally introduced marine crab
Food webs including parasites, biomass, body sizes, and life stages for three California/Baja California estuaries
*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