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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

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

This data package includes four (4) child items with data from the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) long-term monitoring program (nearshore monitoring component) rocky intertidal study. Child Item One: "Rocky Intertidal Sea Star Size, Count, and Disease Data from Prince William Sound, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park". The data include: (1) size and disease state of sea
By
Alaska Science Center

Intertidal Mussel (Mytilus) 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 and describe mussel sampling and observations conducted in the northern Gulf of Alaska. This dataset consists of six comma separated files (.csv): 1) mussel sampling site layout information, 2) mussel counts for mussels greater than 20 millimeters in a quadrat, 3) mussel size measurements for mussels greater than 20 mi
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
Mussels filter feeding during high tide
Mussels filter feeding during high tide
Mussels filter feeding during high tide, Jakolof Bay, Alaska

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.

By
Alaska Science Center
Mussels filter feeding during high tide, Jakolof Bay, Alaska

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.

By
Alaska Science Center

Planktonic to sessile: Drivers of spatial and temporal variability across barnacle life stages and indirect effects of the Pacific Marine Heatwave

Barnacles are a foundation species in intertidal habitats. During the Pacific Marine Heatwave (PMH), intertidal barnacle cover increased in the northern Gulf of Alaska (GoA); however, the role of pelagic larval supply in this increase was unknown. Using long-term monitoring data on intertidal benthic (percent cover) and pelagic larval populations (nauplii and cyprid concentrations), we examined po
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, James L. Bodkin, Rob Campbell, Heather Coletti, Daniel Esler, Kris Holderied, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Caitlin McKinstry, Daniel Monson, Jessica Pretty, Martin Renner, Brian H. Robinson, Robert M. Suryan, Benjamin P Weitzman
By
Alaska Science Center

A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting

Mass mortality events provide valuable insight into biological extremes and also ecological interactions more generally. The sea star wasting epidemic that began in 2013 catalyzed study of the microbiome, genetics, population dynamics, and community ecology of several high-profile species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific but exposed a dearth of information on the diversity, distributions, and i
Authors
Michael Dawson, Paige Duffin, Melina Giakoumis, Lauren M Schiebelhut, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Keith Bosley, Rita Castilho, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Katie Gavenus, Aimee Keller, Brenda Konar, John L. Largier, Julio Lorda, Melissa Miner, Monica Moritsch, Sergio Navarette, Peter T. Raimondi, Sarah Beth Traiger, Monica Turner, John Wares
By
Alaska Science Center

Climate, heatwaves, nearshore ecosystems and the sunflower sea star

At the nexus of the ocean and the land lies the nearshore ecosystem, which includes the intertidal zone, an area exposed during low tides and submerged during high tides. Species in the intertidal are adapted to a high level of environmental variability including high temperatures, waves, and salinity variability. Species’ tolerance to desiccation in part determines the elevation within the intert
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, Robert M. Suryan, Heather A. Coletti, Daniel Esler
By
Alaska Science Center

Lack of strong responses to the Pacific marine heatwave by benthivorous marine birds indicates importance of trophic drivers

The Pacific marine heatwave (PMH) of 2014-2016 was an intense, long-lasting environmental disturbance expressed throughout the north Pacific. While dramatic consequences of the PMH on pelagic food webs have been well documented, effects on nearshore food webs, i.e., those based on macroalgae primary productivity, benthic invertebrate intermediate consumers, and specialized benthivorous top predato
Authors
Brian H. Robinson, Heather A. Coletti, Brenda Ballachey, James L. Bodkin, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Sarah Beth Traiger, Daniel Esler
By
Alaska Science Center

Nearshore ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska

Nearshore ecosystem monitoring in western Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kachemak Bay, and Katmai National Park and Preserve has been conducted as a single Nearshore Component of the Gulf Watch Alaska program over the past five years (2017-2021). This program builds on the previous five years and continues, in many cases, decades of preceding research and monitoring. During the
Authors
Heather A. Coletti, Daniel Esler, Brenda Ballachey, Jim Bodkin, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Daniel Monson, Brian H. Robinson, Sarah Beth Traiger, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Tom Dean, Mandy Lindeberg, Ben Weitzman
By
Alaska Science Center

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,
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, James L. Bodkin, Heather Coletti, Brenda Ballachey, Dean Thomas, Daniel Esler, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Mandy Lindeberg, Daniel Monson, Brian H. Robinson, Robert M. Suryan, Ben Weitzman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Science and Products

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

This data package includes four (4) child items with data from the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) long-term monitoring program (nearshore monitoring component) rocky intertidal study. Child Item One: "Rocky Intertidal Sea Star Size, Count, and Disease Data from Prince William Sound, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park". The data include: (1) size and disease state of sea
By
Alaska Science Center

Intertidal Mussel (Mytilus) 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 and describe mussel sampling and observations conducted in the northern Gulf of Alaska. This dataset consists of six comma separated files (.csv): 1) mussel sampling site layout information, 2) mussel counts for mussels greater than 20 millimeters in a quadrat, 3) mussel size measurements for mussels greater than 20 mi
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
Mussels filter feeding during high tide
Mussels filter feeding during high tide
Mussels filter feeding during high tide, Jakolof Bay, Alaska

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.

By
Alaska Science Center
Mussels filter feeding during high tide, Jakolof Bay, Alaska

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels filter feeding during high tide

Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.

By
Alaska Science Center

Planktonic to sessile: Drivers of spatial and temporal variability across barnacle life stages and indirect effects of the Pacific Marine Heatwave

Barnacles are a foundation species in intertidal habitats. During the Pacific Marine Heatwave (PMH), intertidal barnacle cover increased in the northern Gulf of Alaska (GoA); however, the role of pelagic larval supply in this increase was unknown. Using long-term monitoring data on intertidal benthic (percent cover) and pelagic larval populations (nauplii and cyprid concentrations), we examined po
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, James L. Bodkin, Rob Campbell, Heather Coletti, Daniel Esler, Kris Holderied, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Caitlin McKinstry, Daniel Monson, Jessica Pretty, Martin Renner, Brian H. Robinson, Robert M. Suryan, Benjamin P Weitzman
By
Alaska Science Center

A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting

Mass mortality events provide valuable insight into biological extremes and also ecological interactions more generally. The sea star wasting epidemic that began in 2013 catalyzed study of the microbiome, genetics, population dynamics, and community ecology of several high-profile species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific but exposed a dearth of information on the diversity, distributions, and i
Authors
Michael Dawson, Paige Duffin, Melina Giakoumis, Lauren M Schiebelhut, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Keith Bosley, Rita Castilho, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Katie Gavenus, Aimee Keller, Brenda Konar, John L. Largier, Julio Lorda, Melissa Miner, Monica Moritsch, Sergio Navarette, Peter T. Raimondi, Sarah Beth Traiger, Monica Turner, John Wares
By
Alaska Science Center

Climate, heatwaves, nearshore ecosystems and the sunflower sea star

At the nexus of the ocean and the land lies the nearshore ecosystem, which includes the intertidal zone, an area exposed during low tides and submerged during high tides. Species in the intertidal are adapted to a high level of environmental variability including high temperatures, waves, and salinity variability. Species’ tolerance to desiccation in part determines the elevation within the intert
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, Robert M. Suryan, Heather A. Coletti, Daniel Esler
By
Alaska Science Center

Lack of strong responses to the Pacific marine heatwave by benthivorous marine birds indicates importance of trophic drivers

The Pacific marine heatwave (PMH) of 2014-2016 was an intense, long-lasting environmental disturbance expressed throughout the north Pacific. While dramatic consequences of the PMH on pelagic food webs have been well documented, effects on nearshore food webs, i.e., those based on macroalgae primary productivity, benthic invertebrate intermediate consumers, and specialized benthivorous top predato
Authors
Brian H. Robinson, Heather A. Coletti, Brenda Ballachey, James L. Bodkin, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Sarah Beth Traiger, Daniel Esler
By
Alaska Science Center

Nearshore ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska

Nearshore ecosystem monitoring in western Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kachemak Bay, and Katmai National Park and Preserve has been conducted as a single Nearshore Component of the Gulf Watch Alaska program over the past five years (2017-2021). This program builds on the previous five years and continues, in many cases, decades of preceding research and monitoring. During the
Authors
Heather A. Coletti, Daniel Esler, Brenda Ballachey, Jim Bodkin, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Daniel Monson, Brian H. Robinson, Sarah Beth Traiger, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Tom Dean, Mandy Lindeberg, Ben Weitzman
By
Alaska Science Center

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,
Authors
Sarah Beth Traiger, James L. Bodkin, Heather Coletti, Brenda Ballachey, Dean Thomas, Daniel Esler, Katrin Iken, Brenda Konar, Mandy Lindeberg, Daniel Monson, Brian H. Robinson, Robert M. Suryan, Ben Weitzman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

*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

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