Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.
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
Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research
Rocky Intertidal Data from Prince William Sound, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park
Intertidal Soft-Sediment Bivalves from Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park
Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.
A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting
Lack of strong responses to the Pacific marine heatwave by benthivorous marine birds indicates importance of trophic drivers
Nearshore ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska
Evidence of increased mussel abundance related to the Pacific marine heatwave and sea star wasting
Science and Products
- Science
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... - Data
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, anIntertidal 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) - Multimedia
Mussels filter feeding during high tide
Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.
Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) filter feeding during high tide in Jakolof Bay, Alaska.
- Publications
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 iAuthorsMichael 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 WaresLack 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 predatoAuthorsBrian H. Robinson, Heather A. Coletti, Brenda Ballachey, James L. Bodkin, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Sarah Beth Traiger, Daniel EslerNearshore 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 theAuthorsHeather 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 WeitzmanEvidence 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,AuthorsSarah 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
*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