Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Sarah Traiger, Ph.D.

Sarah is a Biologist with the Alaska Science Center. Her work focuses on species interactions and environmental variables driving spatial and temporal variation in nearshore ecosystems. 

My projects focus on nearshore ecosystems, particularly on top-down and bottom up factors that drive species composition and variability. My current research uses data from the Gulf Watch Alaska Nearshore component. Recent projects include examining the effects of the Pacific marine heatwave and sea star wasting outbreak on abundance of mussels. Currently I am examining relationships between abundance of intertidal invertebrates and their larval counterparts in the plankton.

Professional Experience

  • 2020 – Present Biologist, USGS Alaska Science Center

  • 2018 – 2020 Postdoctoral Researcher, California State University Northridge, Northridge, California

  • 2017 NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellow, University of Auckland, Leigh Marine Research Laboratory, New Zealand

  • 2012 – 2017 Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Alaska Fairbanks

  • 2012 Aquatic Intern, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California

  • 2011 Student Conservation Association Intern, Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, California

  • 2010 – 2011 Waterfront Research Intern, School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, Turks and Caicos Islands

  • 2009 NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Intern, University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega, California

  • 2008 Subtidal Intern, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), Santa Cruz, California

  • 2007 Research Technician, Occidental College, Vantuna Research Group, Los Angeles, California

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D.   2017   University of Alaska Fairbanks

  • B.S.     2010   University of California, Santa Cruz

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Managing Editor

Honors and Awards

  • 2017 Alaska Marine Science Symposium Best PhD Student Oral Presentation

  • 2016 Alaska Marine Science Symposium Best PhD Student Poster Presentation

Science and Products

Evidence of increased mussel abundance related to the Pacific marine heatwave and sea star wasting

Mussels occupy a key middle trophic position in nearshore food webs linking primary producers to predators. Climate-related environmental changes may synergistically combine with changes in predator abundance to affect intertidal ecosystems. We examined the influence of two major events on mussel (Mytilus trossulus) abundance in the northern Gulf of Alaska: the recent Pacific marine heatwave (PMH,
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
link
A juvenile female sea otter eating small green urchins in the intertidal. Glacier Bay near Geikie Inlet, Alaska

Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research

Nearshore ecosystems include many resources that are of high ecological, recreational, subsistence, and economic value. They also are subject to influences from a wide variety of natural and human-caused perturbations, which can originate in terrestrial or oceanic environments. Our research is designed to evaluate sources of variation in the nearshore and how they influence resources of high...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
link

Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research

Nearshore ecosystems include many resources that are of high ecological, recreational, subsistence, and economic value. They also are subject to influences from a wide variety of natural and human-caused perturbations, which can originate in terrestrial or oceanic environments. Our research is designed to evaluate sources of variation in the nearshore and how they influence resources of high...
Learn More

Rocky Intertidal Data from Prince William Sound, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park

These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) long-term monitoring program, nearshore monitoring component. The dataset consists of 10 tables of data organized into four folders. The data are presented in Comma Separated Value (CSV) format exported from a Microsoft Access relational database. The tables are: 1) invertebrate taxonomy, 2) limpet size, 3) limpet counts, 4) Nucella, Katharina, an
By
Alaska Science Center

Intertidal Soft-Sediment Bivalves from Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park

These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) long-term monitoring program and describe bivalve count and size sampling and observations conducted at intertidal soft-sediment sampling sites in the northern Gulf of Alaska. This dataset consists of five comma separated files (.csv): 1) bivalve taxonomy table, 2) bivalve sampling site table, 3) bivalve count table, 4) bivalve size table, and 5)
By
Alaska Science Center
Mussels filter feeding during high tide, Jakolof Bay, Alaska
link

Science and Products

*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