biography
Dr. Matthew Edwards is a coastal marine ecologist who specializes in rocky reef ecosystems throughout the Northeast Pacific Ocean. He received a BA in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 1990 and a MS in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in 1996. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2001 where he studied spatial scales of community organization in kelp forest ecosystems. He joined the faculty at San Diego State University in 2002 where he teaches courses in Marine Biology, Biostatistics, and General Ecology. His research has since focused on benthic ecology, with special attention tohow coastal ecosystems respond to environmental disturbances over broad geographic regionsand how ecosystem functioning is impacted by widespread losses of foundation species. His most recent work has focused on examining ways to sustainably harvest kelp in California and Chile for use in abalone aquaculture,and identifying land-based aquaculture techniques that will aid inreplenishing wild stocks of abalone that have declined in recent decades.This has involved working with aquaculture facilities to study how different parental diets and larval rearing conditions impact adult fecundity and larval settlement, respectively, and whether the ouplanting of laboratory-reared juvenile abalone is a viable method for enhancing their populations in the wild. He is also on the oversight committee for the new Aquaculture facility at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, where they are establishing a place for the study of aquaculture in the California State University system.
Area of Interest
1)Marine ecology: scale-dependent regulation of subtidal kelp forests
2)Recruitment processes in marine macroalgae (with emphasis on the role of dormant stages)
3)Impacts of large disturbances (El Niño-Southern Oscillations)
top publication
1.*Konar, B.K., M.S. Edwards and T. Efird (2015). Local habitat and regional oceanographic influence on fish distribution patterns in the diminishing kelp forests across the Aleutian Archipelago. Environmental Biology of Fishes. TBD
2.Forrest, M.J., M.S. Edwards, R. Rivera and J.R. Jaeger (accepted pending minor revision). High prevalence and seasonal persistence of amphibian chytrid fungus infections in the desert-dwelling Amargosa toad, Anaxyrus nelson. Herpetological Conservation and Biology. TBD.
3.*Brown, M.B., M.S. Edwards and K.Y. Kim (2014). Effects of climate change on the physiology of giant kelp, Macrocystispyrifera, and grazing by purple urchin, Strongylocentrotuspurpuratus. Algae 29: 203-215.
4.Konar, B.K., M.S. Edwards and J.A. Estes (2014). Co-existence of alternate stable states in the Aleutian Islands. Hydrobiologia724: 91-107
5.**VanMeter, K. and M.S. Edwards (2013). The effects of grazing on kelp zoospore dispersal potential. Journal of Phycology 49: 896-901.
6.*Torres-Moye, G., M.S. Edwards and GC Montaño –Moctezuma(2013). Benthic community studies in kelp forest habitats from the Southern California Bight. Ciencias Marinas 39: 239-252.
7.*Jones, C.L., T.W. Anderson and M.S. Edwards (2013). Evaluating eelgrass site quality by the settlement, performance, and survival of a marine fish. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 445: 61-68.
8.*Forrest, M.J., J.T.Kulongoski, M.S. Edwards, C.D.Farra and K.Belitz, (2013) Investigation of potential contamination of public water supply wells by hydrothermal waters in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, California. Applied Geochemistry 33: 25-40.
9.*Carney, L.T., A.J. Bohonak, M.S. Edwards and F. Alberto (2013). Genetic and experimental evidence for a mixed age, mixed origin bank of kelp microscopic stages in southern California. Ecology 94: 1955-1965.
10.Wilmers, C.C., J.A. Estes, M.S. Edwards, K.L. Laidre and B. Konar (2012). Do trophic cascades affect the storage and flux of atmospheric carbon? An analysis of sea otters and kelp forests. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10: 409-415.
11.Edwards, M.S. and B.K. Konar (2012). A comparison of dragon kelp, Eualariafistulosa, (Phaeophyceae) fecundity in urchin barrens and nearby kelp beds throughout the Aleutian Archipelago. Journal of Phycology 48: 897-901.
12.*Borras-Chavez, R., M.S. Edwards and J. Vasquez (2012). Testing sustainable management in Northern Chile: harvesting Macrocystispyrifera (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales). A case study. Journal of Applied Phycology 24: 1655-1665.
13.*Dodge, C.A. and M. S. Edwards (2012). Seasonal variation in the effects of food availability on gametogenesis in the purple urchin (Strongylocentrotuspurpuratus). Marine Biology 159: 427-433
. 14.*Evans, L. and M.S. Edwards (2011). Bioaccumulation of Copper and Zinc by the giant kelp, Macrocystispyrifera. Algae 26: 265-275.
15. *Cie, D and M. Edwards (2011). Vertical distribution of kelp zoospores.Phycologia 50:340-350.
16.*Fejtek, S.M., M.S. Edwards, K.Y. Kim (2011). Elk kelp, Pelagophycusporra, distribution limited due to susceptibility of microscopic stages to high light. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 396: 194-201.
17.*Carney, L.T. and M.S. Edwards (2010). Role of nutrient fluctuations and delayed development in gametophyte reproduction by Macrocystispyrifera(Phaeophyceae) in southern California. Journal of Phycology 46:987-996.
18. Konar, B., K. Iken, J.J. Cruz-Motta, L. Beneditti-Cicchi, A. Knowlton, G. Pohle, P. Milosavich, M.S. Edwards, T. Trott, E. Kimani, R. Riosmena-Rodriguez, M. Wong, S. Jenkins. A. Silva, I.S. Pinto and Y. Shirayama (2010). Current patterns of macroalgal diversity and biomass in Northern Hemisphere rocky shores. PLOS One 5: e13195.
19.Edwards, M.S. and K.Y. Kim (2010).Diurnal variation in photosynthetic performance in giant kelpMacrocystispyrifera(Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) at different depths as estimated using PAM fluorometry. Aquatic Botany 92: 119-128.
20. Konar, B.K., K. Iken and M.S. Edwards (2009) Depth-stratified community zonation patterns on Gulf of Alaska rocky shores. Marine Ecology 30: 63-73.
21.Edwards, M.S. and M. Tinker (2009). Monitoring benthic algal communities: a comparison of targeted and coefficient sampling methods. Algae 24:1-10.
22.*Cie, D.K. and M.S. Edwards (2008).The effects of high irradiance on the settlement competency and viability of kelp zoospores. Journal of Phycology 44:495-500.
23.*Chenolet, H. K. Iken, B. Konar and M. Edwards (2007).Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Echinoderms in Rocky Nearshore Areas of Alaska. The NaGISA World Congress 11:11-28.
24.*Matson, P.G. and M.S. Edwards (2007). Effects of ocean temperature on the southern range limits of two understory kelps, Pterygophoracalifornicaand Eiseniaarborea, at multiple life-stages. Marine Biology 151: 1941-1949.
25. Foster, M.S., M.S Edwards, D.C Reed, D.R. Schiel and R.C. Zimmerman (2006). Top-down vs. bottom-up effects in kelp forests. Science 313: 1737-1738.
26.Edwards, M.S. and J.A. Estes (2006). Catastrophe, recovery, and range limitation in NE Pacific kelp forests: a large-scale perspective. Marine Ecology Progress Series 320:79-87.
Book Chapters
1.Edwards, M.S. and S.D. Connell (2012). “Competition” In: Seaweed Ecophysiology and Ecology. Pgs 135-156. Edited by C. Wiencke and K. Bischof. Published by Springer.
2.Edwards, M. S. (in press) “Kelp forests” In: Ocean and Coastal Management Special Edition - Blue Carbon. Edited by Terri Young.Published by UNEP-WCMC
3.Edwards, M.S “Kelp forests”. Book chapter in the Encyclopedia of Oceanography and Marine Science. Published by the Moschovitis Group.