Tinker & Estes Lab and Santa Cruz Field Station

Ben Weitzman, Biological Technician
United States Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center

Research

Benjamin Weitzman has been working with sea otter researchers from US Geological Survey, California Dept. Fish & Game, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and UC Santa Cruz since late 2007, primarily as field biologist assisting with sea otter observation collections, population counts, mortality studies, and captures using boat-based dive techniques.

My research interests focus around nearshore ecology and the influences on community composition and structure. I am currently working on a project investigating the effects of sea otter recolonization on soft sediment communities in Glacier Bay, Alaska; where otters had been absent for over 150 years. I am working on part of a long term study by US Geological Survey seeking to answer some of the questions surrounding the impacts of sea otter recolonization in a soft-sediment community. In addition to work up in Alaska, I participate as a field technician with USGS in Central California.

Here is a link to Ben's USGS profile.

Education

B.S. Marine Biology
University of California, Santa Cruz 2008

M.S. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of California, Santa Cruz

Ph.D. Student in Marine Biology
University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK

 

Email:
bpweitzm@ucsc.edu

 

Contact Us: USGS Santa Cruz Field Station - 100 Shaffer Road - Center for Ocean Health - Room 251 - Santa Cruz, CA 95060 - 831 459-2357 - werc@ucsc.edu