Dr. Bradley J. Peterson – My research has primarily focused on understanding the role of organisms in changing resource availability within their communities and how these interactions affect community development and stability. I use manipulative experiments in nearshore marine habitats to examine how “resource providers” affect other members of their communities. Much of my work has been done with plant-animal interactions within seagrass ecosystems because these habitats are an excellent model system to ask these questions. However, over the past decade, my lab and I have worked in saltmarshes, mangroves, oyster reefs, coral reefs, and offshore artificial reef systems to address our questions of interest. I have a longstanding interest in elucidating the role played by positive interactions in community organization and in incorporating these interactions into current community development models and restoration strategies. My recent attention has been focused on the impacts of climate change on marine communities, anthropogenic effects on landscape ecology, ecosystem engineering, and restoration ecology. My experimental studies provide predictions on how ecologically important coastal habitats will respond to intense, human-induced perturbations and recommendations for conservation strategies needed to ameliorate their widespread impacts.
Brad Peterson did his Ph.D. under Dr. Ken Heck.
