People       Mark Denny Mark's lab centers on the mechanical design of intertidal organisms from the molecular through the material, structural, and organismal to the ecological. Stephen Palumbi Using genetics, evolution, population biology, and systematics Steve's lab works on the conservation and management of marine populations. Visit the Microdocs website to see how Steve has brought scientific understanding to the classroom. Steve Litvin Steve serves as the research coordinator of the MLO and conducts research on how biological, physical and environmental factors shape the communities in kelp forests and other near shore systems.       William Gilly Gilly's current research program on squid concentrates on the behavior,  physiology and ecology of Dosidicus gigas, the jumbo or Humboldt squid. Special emphasis on hypoxia tolerance and on control of chromatophores, the color-changing organs in the skin. John Pearse Professor Emeritus from University of California, Santa Cruz. John counts marine mammals in the West Beach cove and sea stars and sea urchins subtidally. Jennifer O'Leary I am researching how spatial variation in benthic algal communities affects invertebrate settlement and population dynamics, and whether ocean acidification might alter the composition of benthic communities.       Fiorenza Micheli Fio's lab focuses on the processes and interactions shaping coastal marine communities and incorporating this understanding in the management and conservation of marine biodiversity. James Watanabe James is interested in the distribution and abundance of kelp forest invertebrates, the dynamics of sea urchin-mediated deforestations, and the physiological ecology of kelp. Kerry Nickols I am a marine ecologist and oceanographer, with a strong interest in how nearshore physical processes affect transport of early life stages of marine organisms and other ecosystem commodities.       Past Postdoctoral Researchers           Sarah Lee Sarah's research explored how the physical environment of the kelp forest interacts with diverse assemblages of herbivores, detritivores, and microbial decomposers to determine material dynamics in the system. Vanessa Michelou Vanessa came here to work in establishing protocols for genomic assays of microbial diversity in the nearshore kelp forest environment of Monterey Bay as part of the ongoing investigations of the Marine Life Observatory.